Among the Stars: Act I
by Jaid Skywalker
Summary: Yes, I am alive. Chapter nine is finally here and it's action-packed! This is the last chapter so make sure you review and look out for the sequel in a couple of weeks! ^__^
1. Raise the Curtains

**__**

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

STAR WARS: AMONG THE STARS

Act One 

ONCE, THE EMPIRE RULED OVER THE BEINGS OF THE UNIVERSE. THANKS TO THE REBELLION, THE GALAXY NOW LIVES IN FREEDOM. WE HAVE ALL HEARD THE STORIES OF HAN SOLO, PRINCESS LEIA ORGAN, WEDGE ANTILLES, AND LUKE SKYWALKER. WE HAVE HEARD OF THE EXPLOITS OF CHEWBACCA THE WOOKIE AND THE OF THE DROIDS C-3PO AND R2-D2, AS WELL AS THE BETRAYAL AND REDEMPTION OF LANDO CALRISSIAN. WE ALSO KNOW OF THE EMPEROR AND OF HIS RIGHT-HAND MAN DARTH VADER. THESE PEOPLE, BECAUSE OF THEIR DEEDS, HAVE GONE DOWN IN HISTORY. BUT, HAVE WE FORGOTTON THE OTHERS?

MANY NEW STORIES HAVE BEEN REVEALED FROM THESE YEARS AND THIS IS NO DIFFERENT. WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO WITNESS IS THE LIVES AND HISTORIES OF FIFTEEN YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE BECAME HEROS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT. THEY ARE ONLY A FEW NUMBERED AMONG THE HUNDREDS, BUT THEIR STORY WILL STILL BE TOLD…

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	2. Scene I

Jaid: Well, here we go again…

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Coruscant. The capital of the galaxy. Where you could buy and sell pretty much anything you wanted in the underground, and where the Emperor had built his Imperial palace. Coruscant was the main political, arts, society, and criminal center of the myriad of planets and systems that inhabited the reaches of space. 

The Imperial palace was especially grand, if somewhat eerie, to look at. Though the outside was an imposing polished black granite, the inside was a thing of beauty; the upper levels even had old-fashioned wooden doors that were ornately carved. Behind one of these doors a young woman received some shocking as well as disastrous, news.

"He's what?" Relena turned to her political aide, Dorothy Catalonia. The elegant woman shrugged. 

"That's what the message said." 

Relena turned back to the wide viewport, which gave an excellent view of the bustling Coruscant. 

"But it shouldn't be allowed." She said, one fist clenched. "The Imperial Senate is very important." 

"You know very well it isn't." Dorothy's voice had become rather sharp and bitter. "It was just a ploy, so that there wouldn't be much of an uprising. Palpatine isn't stupid, but he's through with playing games." 

Relena's shoulders fell. "And what of the Senators?" 

"We're all being 'asked' to leave." 

Relena swallowed. "And there's nothing we can do?"

She heard Dorothy sigh. 

"Not that I know of, Highness." Dorothy answered quietly. Relena's shoulders slumped a little more. 

"Tell Nira to start packing." She murmured. 

* * *

"Pardon me, excuse me." Midii Une fought her way through the thick crowd. "Excuse me, uh, miss, ma'am." Midii squeezed past a pair of Twi'lek twins and found herself at the edge of the crowd. 

_Finally._ She thought gratefully. Midii was about to step over the barrier, when a man stopped her. 

"You can't come over here, lady." 

"No, it's okay." Midii said. "I have a friend racing here; number four on the Red Devils team?" 

"Are you a part of the team?" the man asked skeptically. "Look more like a bar waitress to me." 

Midii grimaced slightly, acknowledging the tight black outfit she wore underneath her brown cloak. "Yeah I am. I just wanted to wish him good luck-" 

"I'm sure he will understand." The man said firmly. "But if you're not a mechanic or a racer, then you stay behind the line like everyone else." 

Midii stepped back in frustration. The man walked away. Over where the swoop-racers were lined up, one clad in black with a red fire emblazoned on his jacket, looked up and waved. Midii smiled and mouthed "Good luck!" The rider gave her a thumbs-up. 

"Racers," the announcer said in Basic and several alien languages. "Ready yourselves…Go!" 

* * * 

"This is what the Emperor has planned?" the young man asked, almost incredulously. 

"One would think from your tone, Moff Khushrenada, that you disagreed." A sharp-featured man said in a flowing, easy tone. 

"I am afraid I do, Moff Tarkin." Trieze answered. "This was not what the Navy was built for. It's not what the Navy was meant for." 

"Be that as it may." Moff Tarkin said. "It is what we have been ordered to do. The Death Star is nearing completion and one of us will be chosen to command it." 

"And why would you be telling us now?" Moff Neeran asked. "It seems that we should have been told a while ago." 

"I myself was not aware of the fact till recently." Tarkin answered. Trieze wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. There was a pause as the council digested this. 

"Well," Tarkin stood. "I believe this ends our conversation. Gentlemen, you are dismissed." 

As the Moffs and Grand Moffs filed out, Treize pulled out a small communicator and dialed a number. 

"Sir?" a young woman answered. 

"I need to talk to you, Colonel, as soon as I return." Treize said quietly. 

"Yes, sir. I'll take care of things here." She answered. Treize smiled and cut the connection. 

"Khushrenada." 

Treize turned as Tarkin approached. "Yes?" 

"I know you don't agree to this, but don't throw away your career because of a minor disagreement." 

_Minor? Something that can destroy an entire planet is minor?_ Trieze smiled tightly. "You have no need to worry, sir. If you will excuse me…" 

"Of course." Tarkin stepped out of the way and allowed the younger man to pass. 

* * *

Midii watched the track monitor anxiously. It was the last run. 

"Please let him be okay this time." She whispered. 

"And here they come now." The announcer said. "Number four from Red Devils is head to head with Number one from Xeerdos Fangs! They're making the turn-" 

"Come on." Midii whispered. "Come on." She gasped as Four made an odd swerve away from One and rammed against the wall. To her relief, Four got back on track and sped quickly up passing One and crossing the line. 

"Thank the gods." She muttered. Four painfully got off of his swoop and took off his helmet, wiping the sweat from his eyes. He scanned the crowd, saw her and gave her a wide grin. Midii smiled, and began pressing her way through the crowd. 

Four sighed, then rubbed his leg. It was a good thing it wasn't broken and mentally cursed Cal Vernoss (Number One) for pulling the vibroblade on him. At least it hadn't penetrated his jacket. 

"Are you okay, Quatre?" 

He turned to see Midii. 

"Of course." He said. "And I did get the prize money." 

"Does that mean…?" Midii asked hopefully.

"Yep." Quatre grinned. "Another race I think and we can afford to head wherever you want." 

Midii grinned back in excitement and they hugged. 

"Hey, Winner." 

The two turned to see Cal and his teammates standing there. 

"Can I help you?" Quatre asked coolly. 

"You're cheating." Cal accused. "No way you could take more than one hit like that and still win." 

Quatre raised an eyebrow. "And sabotaging my swoop and attacking me is not cheating." 

"I'm within my bounds." Cal snarled. "You're intruding on my territory and driving me out of business." 

"Your loss." Quatre answered in a hard tone. Midii clutched his arm. 

"Let's go." She whispered. Quatre nodded and turned away. 

"I'm not done with you yet, Winner!" Cal yelled, aiming a punch at him. Quatre dodged. 

"Cool it." He said. "Part of the reason you're not flying so well is all that drink you're having before the races." 

"That has nothing to do with it." Cal said through clenched teeth. "I've been flying like this for years and there's nothing wrong with it." 

"Obviously there is." Quatre answered in the same steely tone. "I don't want to fight you-" 

"Too bad." One of Cal's mates said. 

"Midii," Quatre said softly. "Get back." 

"But-" 

"Trust me." He looked at her, and then she understood. Letting go of his arm, she melted back into the crowd, and Quatre turned back to Cal. 

"Sure you want to start a fight out here?" he asked. 

"I don't care where it is, but you're going down this time." Cal hissed, then lunged. Quatre sidestepped and halfway turned to defend himself against whatever Cal planned to throw at him. Cal's friends were closing in on his other side, and Quatre began to feel a bit nervous. 

Most swoop-riders are rather muscular and tall, mostly because they are often the part of big gangs. But Quatre was small and slender for nineteen and he knew that he couldn't take them all. Best thing to do was follow Midii's example and melt into the crowd. However, with Cal on one side, and his pals on the other, Quatre was quickly realizing that this wasn't going to be as easy as it seemed. 

* * * 

The man sitting alone in the bar was perhaps in his mid to late twenties. His brown eyes kept searching the rest of the catina, as if he were waiting for someone. The man sighed. He hoped the contact would be here soon. 

* * *

"Hey!" Midii shouted, grabbing an arm. The middle-aged man turned and then grinned broadly. 

"Hey yourself, Midii!" he exclaimed above the noise of the crowd and city. "Where's Quatre?" 

"Over there!" Midii pointed. "He needs help. Some guy isn't happy about Quatre winning again and he's just waiting to start some trouble." 

The man's face tightened. "And all we need is storm troopers." He breathed. "Gotcha." 

Taller than Midii and much boarder of shoulder, the man had no problem fighting his way through the crowd. He broke through the edge to see Quatre being cornered between his swoop and five mean looking punks. 

"What's up?" he asked easily, walking up. Cal turned and looked 

"None of your business." He snarled. The man grinned. 

"Oh, I think I'll make it my business." He stated then nodded to the young blonde. "These guys makin' trouble, Quatre?" 

Quatre relaxed from his fighting stance. "They just have a couple of complaints, Abdul." He said easily, then fixed his eye on Cal. "I think they're going to take it up with the owner of the course." 

"No I ain't." Cal said. "I'm takin' it up with you." He stepped towards Quatre, but Abdul stopped him. 

"That isn't a great idea." He said. "I'd hate for the Fangs to get routed by the Red Devils. They wouldn't take too kindly to their best pilot getting beat up. And of course, we wouldn't want 'law enforcement' down here, would we?" 

Cal was still mad, but by this time, it was too much trouble to get his revenge. He relaxed and stepped back, but he was still glaring dangerously. 

"Fine." He spat. "I'll leave. But this isn't over, Winner. Not by a long shot." With that, Cal turned on his heel and left, his groupies following. 

Abdul turned to his younger "brother". "Can't stay out of trouble, can't you?" he said, grinning. 

Quatre sighed and shook his head, but he was smiling. "Follows me like a starving Dronk." 

Abdul laughed and put his arm around the boy's shoulder. "Let's go and find Mids. She's probably ready to tear somebody's head off by now." 

* * * 

"Highness?" 

Dorothy's soft, but precise tone tore Relena from her thoughts. Turning away from the shuttle's view port she turned to her aide. 

"Yes?" 

"I have a report that you should read." Dorothy stated, handing her a datapad. Relena took it and began to read. 

* * *

Midii was somewhere between sleep and awareness. Through the warm haziness, she could hear two voices. One was deep, and slightly accented. The other was light and musical; she smiled. It was Quatre's voice. She frowned again as she realized that he sounded worried. Coming fully awake, she heard her name. Getting up, she walked near the door. 

"I don't really want to say anything." Quatre was saying. "I don't want to worry her." 

"She'll find out anyway, but you're right; no need to get Mids up right now." Abdul agreed. "But you can't stay here anymore; he nearly got you this time." 

"I know." Quatre's answer was grim. "But-" 

"Aww, come on, Quatre. Rashid thinks of you like a son; the son he never had. Savannah and Mara'll be glad to see you; all of us will. Besides, I want you to meet Ari. It's a place where you two will be safe and-" 

"All right, all right!" Quatre's voice was filled with laughter. "You can tell Rashid to expect us. But I need to ask Midii first; this is just as much her decision as mine." 

"Okay." Abdul agreed. "I'll see you later then." 

"Bye." Quatre said. Midii heard the door open and then close, then went and laid back her in bed, in case Quatre would check on her. A few minutes later, she heard the door to her room whoosh softly open, then felt the bed shift as Quatre sat next to her. Midii heard him sigh softly, then felt his hand lightly touch her hair. He got up and walked out of the room. Midii allowed her eyes to open and looked at the closed door, her mind full of questions. 

_Won't find out unless I ask._ She decided, then got up and walked out of the room. Quatre was in their small kitchen. 

"Morning." She said. He jumped slightly and turned, then smiled. 

"Morning, Mids." He greeted. "I'm just about done with breakfast." 

"Good." Midii said, grabbing some dishes and setting them on the small table. "Everything okay for today?" 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Quatre's jaw stiffen tightly. "No," he admitted slowly. "It isn't." 

Midii turned, keeping her expression neutral. "Oh? Why?" 

Quatre licked his dry lips. "Come here." He motioned for her to follow him to his bedroom. They entered and Midii felt the blast of cold air through her thin nightgown. The viewport in Quatre's room was smashed to pieces and the cold Coruscantian air whirled in and out mercilessly. Glass was scattered all over the floor and bed…so was some blood. She whirled around to stare at Quatre, her eyes asking questions. Quatre put his arm around her and led her from the room. 

"What happened?" Midii asked as he shut the door. "Are you okay? How come I didn't wake up?" 

"What happened was that I was attacked." Quatre smiled wryly. "I guess some of my past is catching up with me. I'm fine for the most part, just a few cuts from the glass. I have no idea why you didn't wake up, but you have been working the latest shifts and so you must be pretty exhausted." 

"We have to leave, don't we." Midii said. It wasn't a question. Quatre nodded, his smile fading. 

"I'm sorry." He said. "I know what I promised-" 

Midii cut him off with a hug. "I understand." She said. "It doesn't matter that much." 

They stood there for a moment, then Quatre pulled away far enough so that he could see her face. "Just out of curiosity," Quatre said. "What planet would you have wanted to go to?" 

"Alderaan." Midii answered softly. "It was my mother's planet." 

Quatre nodded. "I see." He looked at her. "I'll do my best to get you there."

Midii nodded. "Thanks." 

Quatre smiled, then stiffened. 

"What?" Midii asked…just as the smoke alarm went off. They walked quickly into the kitchen, where "breakfast" was smoking. Quatre groaned and Midii laughed. 

"Get dressed." She told him. "I'll buy us breakfast." 

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Jaid: There, first chappy done! Sorry if the racing scene sucked; I'm not much good with swoops. 

Naga: I'd like a swoop. 

Jad: You're dangerous enough with a car. 

Jaid: He was driving? 

Jad: Oops. 

Naga: Great job, big mouth. 

Jaid: Naga was driving? 

Naga: No I wasn't! He's ahh, lying, that's it! 

Jaid: We'll discuss this later…

Jad: Heh, heh right. Read and Review!!! 

A/N: Hey guys! Um, I need some public opinion here. I'm thinking about making this the first Midii/Quatre story. Whatd'ya think? I know; I'm a diehard Q/D and M/T fan, but I thought it would be interesting. I won't do it if you all are against it; but I thought it'd be kinda cool. 


	3. Scene II

Jad: Here we are with another chapter!

Jaid: Lemme get this straight, you were driving my car, Naga? 

Naga: Only took it for a little spin. 

Jad: *to reader* Um, go ahead and read. You don't want to know what's coming. 

Jaid: Define little. 

Naga: It's relative. That's a nice car by the way. 

Jaid: Yes, and I'd like for it to stay that way, comprende?

Naga: You spelt that wrong. 

Jad: *he's still talking to you* Trust me. You DON'T want to be here right now. 

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Disclaimer that I forgot to put in the first chapter (It was all Naga's fault, I swear!): I don't own anything. Star Wars and it's characters, ships, worlds, etc. belong to George Lucas and a ton of talented people such as Kathy Tyers, Timothy Zahn, Michael A. Stackpole, etc. Gundam Wing belongs to…that dude in Japan (I can never remember his name). I only own the various minor characters who will show up here and there (but not Kyle Katarn! He's not mine!) 

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Relena looked up from the report to Dorothy. 

"This is true?" she asked. Dorothy nodded. Relena stood. 

"But how could it have happened so fast?" she asked. "Without us knowing…" her voice trailed off. Dorothy nodded. They both knew the answer: a traitor.

* * * 

The man with brown eyes was seriously considering leaving the catina. He had been waiting for two hours past the set meeting time, and he feared that his contact was gone; captured by Imperials or worst. Sighing, he looked down at his drink, then looked up to where the band played. He decided to wait until the young lady on the stage stopped singing; she was rather pretty, with delicate features, large grayish purple eyes and soft auburn hair that curled around her shoulders. The girl's voice wasn't so bad either. No, the man decided, he wouldn't leave just yet. 

* * * 

"We got anymore?" Duo asked. His partner, a short, pixie-like girl shook her head. 

"Nope. We're done here." She answered. 

"Thank the Force." Duo grinned. "I hear they got some great catinas around here." 

"I'd rather go shopping." 

"Hiiiildee!" Duo cried. The girl laughed merrily. 

"I'm just kidding…this time." Hilde linked arms with her partner. "Let's go. I'm parched." 

* * * 

"Where you off too, boy?" 

The tall, slender young man stopped at the hangar door then turned. 

"To see my sister." He answered blankly. "She works near here." 

His boss took the cigarra he had been smoking and tossed it away. "Don't be long. We may have a job in a few hours." 

"I won't." the boy answered, not mentioning the fact that they had just finished a job and gotten back to Darknell. "I'll be back by morning." 

Without waiting for an answer, he walked away. 

* * * 

"I apologize for being late." 

The man with brown eyes turned to see a slender young man with sharp features and black hair tightly tied back in a small ponytail. 

"I was getting worried." The man admitted as the boy took a seat. "Kyle Katarn." 

"Wufei." The other said without blinking. "You have it?" 

"Yes." Kyle answered. "Do you have my money?" 

Wufei's mouth tightened visibly, but he brought out a slender holder full of credit chips. 

"It's all there." He said. 

"I wasn't going to count." Kyle told him honestly. "But I'm on hard times. And without money, I don't find my father." 

Wufei's features relaxed somewhat. "I apologize." He said again. 

"Don't. I understand your reaction. The Rebellion has to deal with too many fringe types, I imagine." Kyle said, then handed Wufei a datacard holder. "There it is. May the Force be with you." 

"And with you." Wufei answered softly as the man walked away. The girl on the stage began to sing again, a beautiful haunting melody. His wife, Meiran used to sing that and he…Wufei shook himself and stood, nearly bumping into a tiny young woman with great dark blue eyes and a pixie like face. 

"Oh excuse me." She said. Wufei glared at her, even though it wasn't her fault. He quickly walked away. 

"Wonder what that dude's problem was." Duo wondered. Hilde shrugged. 

"He left an empty table." She grinned and sat. Duo smiled back and sat as well. 

* * * 

"We just about ready?" Quatre asked. Midii looked up and nodded as she stood. 

"I've got everything packed. The landlord put up a stink about the broken viewport, but I paid him off." She answered. Quatre came over and put his hands on her shoulders. 

"Are you all right?" he asked. "You've been jumpy all morning." 

Midii looked at his dark eyes, filled with concern, and smiled. "Yeah, just got used to living here, that's all. I'll be fine." 

"Okay." Quatre smiled back. "We'd better go. Abdul's meeting us at the spaceport." 

"He has our passes, right?" 

"Don't worry, Mids. I'm sure Abdul has it all under control." 

* * *

Wufei walked through the dusty streets grimly, the song still playing in his head. He remembered Mieran singing it the day before she died. The day before the Imperial governor had-

He broke off his thoughts, realizing that his fist was clenched hard, hard enough to drive his nails deep into his skin. 

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I will not think of this. Not now. Not when I have a job to do. Taking a deep breath, he turned the corner to his bay-

And promptly drew back as he saw what seemed to be a good number of stormtroopers surrounding his ship. Somebody had leaked information. Wufei felt the sharp edge of the datacard holder in his jacket. He couldn't let this mission fail; too much depended on it. Silently, he retraced his steps and barely missed the other half of the stormtrooper group marching his way. Wufei felt the slight edge of panic creep up on him and shoved it away. Maneuvering behind the various machines and pallets that littered the hallways of the docking bays, he waited for them to pass by. When they entered his docking bay, he quietly crept away, wondering how in the galaxy he was going to get off this planet. 

* * * 

Catherine ended her song and accepted the sparse applause with a smile. Stepping off the stage she sighed in relief and headed towards her dressing room. Closing the door, she leaned her forehead against it for a moment, then turned. 

"Triton!" 

The young man barely smiled as she ran and threw her arms around him. 

"Oh, I missed you." 

Triton didn't answer her, but simply returned her hug. Pulling back, he said, "I can't stay long. Boss said to be back by morning." 

Catherine frowned. "Couldn't you just quit? I hate you running off like that all the time." 

"It's a good job." Triton told her. Catherine went over to her mirror and began taking off her makeup. "It pays well." 

"I know, but I don't like the idea…I mean what if something happens to you?" Catherine turned and looked up at him. "You're the only family I have left. I don't want to lose you." 

"You're not going to lose me." Triton said, kneeling and taking her hand. "But I just…I don't like to stay in one place. You know that." 

Catherine looked away. 

"Look, can we just not argue about it tonight?" Triton asked. His sister looked back at him. 

"Okay." She said. "Let me get changed and we'll go get something to eat. 

* * * 

"Abdul said to meet him here." Quatre said, as they entered the spaceport. Midii looked around at the milling crowd. 

"Over there!" she said, pointing. They picked up their luggage and walked towards the tall man. 

"Hey, thought you'd never get here!" he grinned. "I've got your passes here. Ready to go?''

"Where do we put the luggage?" Midii asked. 

"The droids'll take care of it." Abdul said. "It's labeled, right?" 

Midii nodded. 

"Okay, you got nothin to worry about then. Just put it on one of the carriers over there and then we board." 

Midii and Quatre walked over and began loading the cart. 

"Another new step, huh?" Quatre asked, looking sideways at her. 

"Yup." Midii said. "Seems we're always moving." 

"I'm sorry." He said softly. 

"Don't." Midii put a hand on his arm. "It's not your fault. I don't mind you dragging me into this whirlwind that you call life. If it wasn't for you, then I'd be dead on Tatooine somewhere." 

Quatre smiled back and put his hand over hers. "Thanks." He said. 

"Hey you two!" Abdul shouted. "We don't got all day!" 

"We're coming!" Quatre answered. Midii grabbed a case and handed it to him. 

"Bring your violin." She said. "You haven't played in a while; I'd like to hear it again and we'll be stuck in that ship for a few days." 

"All right." Quatre agreed. He took the instrument case from her and they walked towards the passenger line. 

* * * 

Wufei walked through the streets. The dark look on his face cause many to simply scatter out of his way. Wufei didn't care, in fact it was easier to maneuver through a crowd that didn't block his way. 

Kyle Katarn had already left the planet; Wufei had found that out. An Imperial grounding order was in play, preventing all ships from leaving without being inspected. Wufei wasn't worried about the ship he had come in; everything in it was manufactured to make him look like a simple trader who was on hard times. No, it was actually getting off the planet. 

He couldn't hook a ride; nobody would take him on such short notice and agree to let him jump ship somewhere else. Nor could he risk stowing away. That left him three options: steal a ship, buy a ride or wait until the Imperials satisfied their curiosity. The first one wouldn't do; he'd just be attacking unwanted attention to himself. The third wouldn't work either; time was of the essence on this mission and Wufei was already behind schedule. That left buying a ride. Grimacing, the young man pulled out his wallet and checked the quantity of credits he had left. 

"Not enough." He murmured. Stuffing the wallet back in his pocket, he began to angrily walk, when a thought struck him. All his papers were in order; what if he were to approach the stormtroopers? It was foolhardy; there was most certainly a traitor. But then again, what choice did he have? Wufei sighed and began to walk again, hands in pockets and head down. 

Passing by a stormtrooper questioning a lady, he heard the customary, "Have you seen this man…etc." He took no notice until he heard the name they were looking for. Lei Shen-chin. His cover name. With difficulty, Wufei strolled by casually, knowing it was too late to go another direction without causing unwanted attention to his person. He passed by, and almost thought he was in the clear when a machine distorted voice of a stormtrooper demanded, "Hey, you! Stop." 

Wufei did as told, and heard the two troopers walking up behind him. 

"Could you turn around, sir?" one said. "We need to check-" 

He got no further as Wufei turned and planted a laser bolt in his abdomen were the armor split. His partner got off a shot before Wufei's laser bolt hit his neck. Unfortunately, Wufei fell to the ground, blaster bolt in the upper chest. Grimacing against the pain, he saw more white-armored troopers headed towards him. Struggling to his feet, he began to run. 

"You! Stop!" one yelled. 

"Like hell." Wufei muttered between gritted teeth. Skidding, he turned a sharp corner into a back street, three of the stormtroopers hot on his heels. Wufei wasn't sure where he was headed, he just ran. 

"Gah!" Wufei fell as another bolt hit him in the calf. This one was lower grade; instead of burning through the flesh, it drew blood. Wufei was beginning to feel faint from the pain but got up anyway. He couldn't be caught; too much depended on him. 

* * * 

"Well, that was an evening well spent." Duo grinned, jiggling a pocketful of credits. 

"One of these days, you are going to lose." Hilde warned him. 

"Not likely, babe." Duo said, putting his arms around her shoulders. "Not likely- what in the blue hell?" 

A figure crashed into them, and without stopping to apologize, continued to run. His haste was understood as five stormtroopers came around the corner at full pace. 

"That was weird." Duo scratched his head as he helped Hilde up from the ground. "Hey wasn't that the guy who-" 

"What's this?" Hilde drew from her jacket pocket a data card holder. "This looks like it has eight to ten cards in it." 

"It's not yours?" Duo asked. Hilde shook her head solemnly. 

"It must have belonged to that man. I wonder why…" Hilde's voice trailed off. Duo looked uncomfortable. 

"I don't know, hon, but I'd say we get rid of it. The last thing I want is the Imperials on my tail again." 

"We could just look at it." Hilde argued. "No harm in looking." 

"Wanna bet?" Duo raised an eyebrow. Hilde frowned at him. 

"Okay." Duo grumbled. "Better get back to the ship first, though." 

* * * 

_Great. How'd I get back here?_ Wufei thought irritably, as he panted, looking around the docking bay area. He'd been shot in the side as well as the other two places and the pain was beginning to make him see spots. He couldn't last for much longer, especially after he had fallen down those stairs. Wufei looked in vain for a place to hide. At this point, somewhere where he could collapse, safely. He'd palmed the cards onto that girl; he didn't want to involve innocents, but it had been a split-second survival instinct. Now, he was at the point of collapse and wondering if all the stories of Imperial interrogations were true. Falling, he hoped that they weren't and then the darkness took him. 

* * * 

"Is it me or are there stormtroopers everywhere tonight?" Duo asked. 

"It probably has to do with that man." Hilde said softly. 

"Yeah." Duo said. "I think we should lift off pretty soon; maybe even tonight." 

"If we can." Hilde reminded him. "They've probably impounded all ships." 

"I hope not." Duo commented as they approached their ship, the _Lady Helen._ Duo started to mount the gangplank, when a low moan was heard. He turned to Hilde, to see that she was as mystified as he was. Another moan sounded and Duo realized that it came from _under_ the gangplank. He and Hilde exchanged looks, then Hilde ducked under to see what it was, as Duo walked back down. 

"What is it?" he asked. 

"It's that guy." She answered. "I think he needs help." 

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no." Duo shook his head. "We don't need to invite trouble, babe." 

"But he's going into shock." Hilde said. "And he's badly hurt. Come on Duo, you can't just leave him here." 

"Yes we can-" Duo was cut off as the man groaned again. "Let me see." 

Hilde moved out of the way and let Duo have a look. The wiry brunette sighed, then with difficulty, hefted the slightly taller man over his shoulder. Hilde smiled and preceded him into the ship. Duo climbed up, wondering, _How do I let myself get into these things?_

* * * 

When Wufei came too, he was lying in a ship's med bunk. Starting, he sat up. He was shirtless and there were bacta bandages on his wounds. Quieting himself, he realized that the ship was humming. That meant he was in space. 

_Well, _he thought wryly. _This is certainly not an Imperial interrogation. I wonder who saved me?_

Standing up, he opened the door and walked through a short, narrow hallway into a living area. No one was in there. Wufei walked past that and opened another door. The pilot's station. 

A young man was seated there, leaning back, with his hands behind his head and a cap covering his face. In the other chair was a young woman, chin in her hand and headphones on her ears. Neither had noticed his entrance. 

"Who are you?" he finally said. The girl jumped and whirled around, while the young man sat up, his cap falling.

"Huh, what?" the young man asked, dazedly. 

"Who. Are. You?" Wufei said again. The young man rubbed his eyes. 

"Duo. Duo Maxwell. This is my partner Hilde Schbieker." 

Hilde smiled at him. 

"What am I doing here?" 

"We found you near our ship." Hilde explained, then took something from her pocket. "Is this yours?" 

Wufei's chest constricted and then felt light. His mission had not failed. With an uncharacteristic look of relief, he gratefully took the data card holder from Hilde's hand. 

"Yes." He said. "Yes, this is mine." He looked up. "Where are we headed?" 

"Smuggler's Run." Duo answered. 

"I need to get to Krelth." Wufei said. "It's urgent." 

"Krelth is in the other direction." Duo objected. "I ain't turning around now." 

"You don't understand." Wufei said, rapidly losing his temper. 

"I don't have to understand." Duo stood, so that he could face Wufei eye to eye. It didn't exactly work, as Wufei was taller than him. "This is my ship, and we're headed to Smuggler's Run!" 

"Why do you have to get to Krelth?" Hilde asked. Wufei glanced at her. 

"I have to deliver this data card." He answered. 

"Well, surely it can wait." Hilde smiled. "We have to pick up a cargo there and then we can head to Krelth if you wish." 

Wufei shook his head. "No, I cannot do that. I am late as it is and-" he sighed with difficulty and frustration. How could he explain to these people just how much those data cards could mean to the Alliance, to the galaxy? "It is hard to explain." He looked at Hilde and then at Duo, as if measuring if he could trust them. He decided he knew too little. Crossing his arms, he looked down at Duo. 

"I can see that you are amply recompensed if you take me to Krelth now." He said. Force knows that his commander would be harsh about promising the Alliance's meager funds away, but it was his only choice now. 

"Define amply." Duo countered, crossing his own arms. 

"I'll make sure you get paid what you lost, plus two thousand for my passage." 

"Six." 

"Two." 

"Six." 

Wufei grimaced. "Three." 

"Five." 

"Four." 

Duo cocked his head, then grinned. "Done." Sitting back in the pilot's chair, he called the nav computer up and began to set a course for Krelth. Wufei had the feeling that he had been duped and was consequently rather annoyed. Hilde turned her chair back around, releived that they had been able to come to terms. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

And now it's time for answering the reviewers! 

Heero's otherside: I'll check your stories out as soon as I can! 

Midii Une: Thanx for the encouragement! 

Fb2K: Oh, sorry it irked you. I will promise to put in at least one Q/D and T/M scene for all you die-hard fans. 

blue eyes: Did you mean in this story, or in general? Midii and Quatre would probably make convincing siblings…they look enough alike. But not for this story; maybe another one! 

Ley: So glad you enjoyed it! 

Remember everybody: R&R!!!!


	4. Scene III

Jad: Here we are again! 

Naga: *walks by* Hee, hee, hee. 

Jad: *blinks* Uh, okay. 

Jaid's voice: NAGA SADOW!

Naga: *walks by* Hee, hee, hee. 

Jad: Um, why don't you read the story, while I find out what's going on…

************************************************************

"So, any plans yet?" Midii asked as she and Quatre sat in the badly lit, rather crowded, eating area. 

"Not really." Quatre mused. "I figure we can stay there for a little while and decide what to do as we go. Why? Have you been thinking about it?" 

"Yes and no." Midii said. "I mean, I have been wondering where we'll be going from here, but I don't really have an idea." 

"Well, I've always wanted to go to Corellia." Quatre mused. 

"You've never been there?" Midii asked. 

"No." 

"Hmm, I thought you would have visited every planet in the galaxy by now." 

Quatre grinned. "Not quite. I'm not that old." 

"Really. I couldn't tell." Midii said with a twinkle in her eye. Quatre threw his head back and laughed, causing some of the other passengers to look his way. 

"Let's just decide when we get there. It's not like we have a deadline or anything." Quatre suggested. 

"Okay." Midii smiled. "Sounds good to me." 

* * * 

Wufei grimaced. All day he had been trying to meditate, only to be interrupted. Now, when he finally had a room to himself, that baka Duo had insisted on playing his very loud music. 

_Keep calm, distance yourself, don't get angry._ He told himself over and over. It wasn't working. Finally losing it, he stormed out of the bunk area and into the living quarter. 

"Excuse me." He said, gritting his teeth. Duo's back was too him and apparently, he couldn't hear Wufei. 

"Excuse me." Wufei said, louder this time. 

"HEY, YOU!" he finally shouted. Duo whirled around. 

"YEAH, WHAT DO YOU WANT?" He shouted back. 

"COULD YOU TURN THAT DOWN?"

"HUH?" 

Gritting his teeth again, Wufie reached over and cut the power. 

"Hey!" Duo said. 

"Could you turn it down?" Wufei said between clenched teeth. He would have been less polite, but this guy was giving him a ride. 

"I like it loud." 

"It's bothering me." 

"So?" 

Wufei was struggling to keep control of himself. "Because I am trying to meditate and your…noise is ruining my concentration." 

"It's not noise; it's music." Duo scowled.

"Not to my ears." 

"Like I care-" 

The door whooshed open and Hilde came in. She looked at them with candid surprise, then turned to the food making counter. 

"You guys hungry yet?" she asked, nonchalantly looking through supplies. 

"Sure!" Duo said happily, forgetting the argument. Wufei began to breathe deeply in an effort to calm himself. 

"Um…" Hilde paused. She couldn't remember his name. "Are you hungry too?" 

Wufei forced himself to look at her. "No." 

"Okay." Hilde turned back to the food. "What do you want, Duo?" 

"Anything's good." He answered. 

"Okay." She said. Wufei turned on his heel and left. Duo watched him go. 

"That guy has a stick the size of-"

"Duo…" 

"Well, he does." Duo said as Hilde handed him his food. 

* * * 

"Are you sure about this, Highness?" Dorothy asked. "If that report is true, then you will be in danger." 

"I cannot sit by while the Imperials take complete control of my home." Relena said. "I don't even understand why they are doing this; Cinq never caused any trouble." 

Dorothy was quiet for a moment. "I don't know." She admitted. "But I am strongly against you traveling back there. They may arrest you or hold you hostage or something." 

"So I should just sit by while my people are enslaved?" Relena asked angrily. 

"No!" Dorothy shook her head. "No. But there are places we can go; people who will help." 

Relena was silent for a moment. "You mean the Rebellion." She said quietly. Dorothy nodded. Relena looked at her for a while. 

"And you think that will really help? It could be years before my people are freed." Relena said. 

"Better years than forever, majesty. The only way a lot of planets will see freedom is having the Empire toppled." Dorothy said. 

"And what if Cinq thinks I have abandoned her?" 

"There are ways to get messages." 

Another silence. Relena stood. 

"I shall have to think about it. I am no soldier." 

"Of course, Your Highness." Dorothy bowed her head in respect. Relena looked at her. 

"Sometimes I wonder if you are mocking me." She said, with a slight smile, then swept past, exiting the room. Dorothy looked after her. 

"In a way." She conceded, with a smile of her own. 

* * *

"We are almost there." Abdul said as they walked the dim hallways.

"I think I've lost track of time." Midii admitted. "I forgot how being in space makes everything blend together." 

"Yeah." Quatre agreed. "Of course, that's what holocrons are for…" 

Midii gave a dry look. "Yeah they are. If we had one." 

"I didn't know that it was going to get smashed." Quatre muttered. "That droid should have been more careful." 

"Oh really?" Midii raised an eyebrow. "I suppose you thought it was actually intelligent?" 

Quatre looked up about to defend himself, but he caught the glint in her eye. He smiled and shook his head. "Point taken." 

Abdul turned away from them, smiling himself. It was good to be with the both of them. 

* * * 

"Setting out again?" Catherine asked. Triton looked up from the datapad he was holding. The tall blonde next to him moved away and Catherine walked closer. 

"Just a short job." Triton said quietly. "I'll be back in a week or less." 

"Good." Catherine smiled. "Where you going?" 

"Classified." Triton deadpanned. 

Catherine rolled her eyes. That was the closest her brother could get to a joke. Putting her arms around him, she sighed. 

"Just be careful." 

Triton didn't answer, but squeezed her slightly to tell her he understood. 

* * * 

"Here we are." Duo murmured, punching some controls as the _Helen_ came out of hyperspace. 

"What's his name again?" Hilde asked, hand hovering above the comm button. 

"He's been with us for three days and you don't know his name?" Duo asked. 

"No." Hilde admitted. "Do you?" 

There was a pause. 

"No." Duo admitted. 

Hilde rolled her sapphire blue eyes and pressed the button. "Um, we're approaching Krelth. Do you want come up here?" 

"Yes." Was the short reply. A few minutes later, Wufie was with them and seated in one of the passenger seats. 

"You sure these are the right coordinates?" Duo asked. Wufei's jaw tightened. 

"Yes." He said. "Why?" 

" 'Cause we ain't headed for the space port." Duo said, looking at Hilde. 

"My business isn't that public." Wufei told him. "If you will just follow-" 

"Okay, okay." Duo said in a conciliatory tone. Hilde shot Wufei a nervous smile. He nodded back, allowing his features to relax, then directed his attention to the view port. 

"I have a bad feeling about this." Duo muttered in an undertone. 

* * *

Relena was awoken by a jolt that told her the ship was out of hyperspace. Getting up, she grabbed a robe and walked out of the room, looking for Dorothy or anyone who could and would tell her what was going on. 

She walked down the passageway, but nobody was there. Relena frowned, finding that odd. 

"Highness!" 

Relena turned to see Dorothy coming from the opposite way. 

"What? What's happened?" Relena asked, not liking the expression on the taller blonde's face. 

"We need to leave now." Dorothy said, as the ship suddenly lurched, knocking both girls against the opposite wall. 

"Why?"

"An Indictor Cruiser was waiting along the hyperspace lane. They've pulled us out with their gravity wells and we're being attacked." Dorothy had Relena's arm and was guiding her back to her room. "Throw something on and meet me at the bridge. I'm going to see if-never mind. Hurry!" 

"But-" Relena stopped as the ship lurched violently again. Grimacing, Relena ran to her wardrobe and pulled out the simplest dress she could find. Yanking open her shoe compartment, she mentally bemoaned the fact that nothing she had was suitable for situations like this. _Of course, I didn't expect to be thrown in a situation like this; I wonder where Dorothy got that jumpsuit she was wearing. Probably raided the crews' locker or something._ Relena shook her head, wondering how she could think of the most mundane things when they were under an attack. She opened the door to see a young man in a crew uniform waiting for her. 

"You're suppose to come with me, Highness." He said, face pale. Relena nodded, her throat suddenly tight as she followed him down the passageway. 

****************************************************

Jaid: *sobs* My car, my beautiful car. 

Jad: …

Naga: That was fun. 

Jaid: Naga! You destroyed it! My beautiful, cherry red bug!!!! 

Naga: It'll run. It's just a black, uh, slightly crumpled bug now. 

Jaid: THE TRUNK IS PRACTICALLY SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE HOOD!

Naga: I thought that was normal…

Jaid: *smacks him with frying pan, extra hard* 

****

Hello all! Yes, it is respond to the reviewer time. ^__^ 

Psycho kitty – Glad you liked the story! If you leave your e-mail, I can add you to my notification list thingie. 

Midii Une – Thanx for the encouragement and the heads-up. That one scene was pretty fudged up; sorry. I didn't want to give too much away, but I wanted to do something…aww, you know how it is. I'll probably fix it later. Lol, don't worry, we'll find out what happened on Tatooine soon. 

Blue eyes – lol, yeah, that was a plus! The other pairings I'm not so sure about, although I do know that it will be a DM/HS (obviously). I'm also working towards TK/LU, LN/ZM, and maybe some slight RP/HY and WC/SP. 

Ley – Glad you liked it! 

Fb2k – lol, I get easily amused as well. Glad you enjoyed it so far! 

Okay, announcing a contest (I can't believe I'm doing this). I am going to put other anime characters in cameo parts as well as have some of my former original characters (for instance, you might see Jaran from CotM or Timmy from "On the Wild Frontier"). The people who can name and list all of them get to request a song fic for any pairing/any song (as long as I can get the lyrics). This means you have to be paying attention starting next chapter! 


	5. Scene IV

Jad: Uh, here we are again, to introduce the chapter. 

Naga: *grins* Yeah, Jaid can't talk 'cause she's got a sore throat. 

Jaid: *glares at Naga, then holds up a sign (a la Genma-Panda) that says, "I can too talk! Just not verbally!*

Naga: Yeah, but you can't yell, can you? 

Jaid: *sign: "You'll pay for this Naga Sadow! You just wait"*

Naga: Ahh, the empty threats of a woman

Jaid: *hits him with the sign*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jad: Jaid would like to apologize for how long it has taken her to get this chappy out. But to make up for it, it's a long one! She would also like to say that Hobbs and Wes belong to George Lucas, but Deblin II and Celross III belong to her. Oh, and if you don't know, Twi'leks are those creatures in Star Wars with the head tails instead of hair. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, there you are!" 

Wufei walked down the ramp to be greeted by a tall woman with wheat-blonde hair and blue eyes. She smiled. 

"I'm glad your back; we were getting worried." 

"I ran into some trouble." Wufei said brusquely. The woman raised an eyebrow. 

"Obviously." She looked up to see Duo and Hilde looking around. She approached. 

"I'm Sally Po." She said, offering a hand. 

"Duo Maxwell and this is my partner, Hilde." Duo said. Hilde smiled. "Where are we?" 

Sally blinked then looked at Wufei, who frowned at the ground. 

"This is a base for the Rebel Alliance." Sally said softly. "I'm sorry; I guess I assumed you were one of us." 

"Smugglers." Duo explained. Sally nodded, and smiled again. 

"Well, my superiors will want to see you; do you mind sticking around?" 

"No." Hilde said, before Duo could say anything. 

"He promised that we would get paid." Duo added. Sally nodded, then turned to Wufei as he and she walked towards the hangar exit. 

"You promised pay?" 

"I didn't have a choice." Wufei muttered. "He was on a trip to Smuggler's Run for cargo and short of hi-jacking the ship, I couldn't have gotten here faster." 

"I understand." Sally told him. "But you know; the commander isn't going to be happy." 

Wufei grimaced inwardly. "I know." 

* * * 

"Here, Highness." The young man said as they entered the ship's hangar and approached a small shuttle. "Lady Catalonia is waiting for you inside." 

"What…?" Relena looked at him in confusion. The young man's large brown eyes met hers. 

"There's no escape right now, but if you two can get away, there might be hope." He said. 

"You're not coming?" Relena asked. 

"There's not enough room. It's a very small shuttle and Force knows how long you will be in it." He said, as the ship shuddered from another blast. "Go." 

She began to climb the small ramp, then turned. "Wait!" 

The young man paused. "Yes, Highness?" 

"What's your name?" 

The young man gave a sad smile. "Ryou Bakura, Princess." 

"Ryou Bakura." Relena repeated softly. "I won't forget you." 

He colored softly, bowed a little, then took off at a run while she ran back into the ship. 

"Dorothy!" 

"In here." 

Relena sat in one of the cockpit seats and struggled with her seat binders. Dorothy had already done preflight checks and was punching buttons on something else. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Getting a short hyperspace vector that will take us away from here. We can decided what to do then; right now we concentrate on survival." 

Relena was quiet as Dorothy finished her calculations and piloted out of the ship. 

"Will they come after us?" she asked. 

"Probably." Was Dorothy's short reply as she made sure the shields were up. "I'll go into hyperspace as soon as we're out of range of the ship." She brought her hand up on the hyperspace lever and silently counted down. "Go." She said softly. The stars blurred into lines and there was a slight shudder as the ship made its jump. 

* * * 

"Is that it?" Midii asked, peering out from the view port. 

"Yep. That's the Maguanac base." Quatre said. "A very successful fueling station." 

"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said you grew up among the stars." Midii breathed. Quatre smiled. 

"Better get ready. We'll be landing soon." He said, and walked away. Midii turned back to see the base that slowly drifted around space. It was huge; with platforms and a sort of small encased city. Briefly she wondered if it was Maguanac's true home, or if they had been forced there somehow. She wondered why Quatre never referred to himself as a Maguanac and abruptly realized how little she knew about the man she shared a life with now. Turning away from the viewport, she went to find Quatre and Abdul. 

* * *

"Sir?" 

Treize turned to see his assistant, Colonel Une walking up. 

"You received a message from Grand Moff Tarkin, sir." She said, handing him a data pad. "You are to go to Cinq and take the place of Moff Welquin there." 

"Moff Welquin prove unsatisfactory?" Treize asked. 

"Deeply." Une said. "He was making private deals with the Rebels themselves, sir." 

"Hmm." Treize frowned and handed the data pad back to his aide. "So, Tarkin has a convenient place to keep me out of the way." 

"Sir?" 

Treize stood and walked to the viewpoint. "He doesn't want me to cause a stir, Une. So, instead, he gives me an assignment that will keep me out of the way and conveniently quiet." He turned to her. "No matter. Cinq is a very charming place. I may be happy there." 

"Yes, sir." Une said. She had probably gotten used to his ramblings by now, he decided. Turning back to the view port, he said, "Dismissed." 

Une bowed sharply and left. 

* * * 

Relena was quiet as the ship came out of hyperspace. Dorothy set the ship in autopilot and then leaned back. 

"Have you thought of were we could go?" she asked. Relena jumped slightly. 

"No." she admitted. "I mean…I'm not sure." She did not say that she had mostly been thinking about the crew aboard her ship and wondering how many had died and how many were taken prisoner. 

"Who was Ryou Bakura?" she suddenly asked. Dorothy frowned and looked at her. 

"He was a young man involved in lower guard duty." She said. "Quite patient sort; a little too trusting as I recall. Why?" 

"He was the one who came and got me." Relena told her quietly. "I just wanted to know who he was, that's all." She looked out the viewport. Dorthy sighed quietly and called up a holo map. 

"Alderaan." Relena said suddenly. Dorothy looked at her. 

"What?" 

Relena turned to Dorothy. "Let's go to Alderaan. They are peaceful there; as Cinq was. Bail Organa will help us, I'm sure." 

Dorothy shut off the holo map. "As you wish." 

* * * 

"The commander will see us in a minute." Sally said as she sat down next to Wufei. "You look beat." 

"I am." He admitted. If it had been any one else but Sally, he would have ignored the comment. 

"You're actually admitting it?" Sally said in mock surprise. "You must hurt more than I thought." 

Wufei growled. Sally laughed then stood. 

"I'm getting a drink. You want anything?" 

"A strong cup of caff." Wufei said. Sally nodded and walked away. 

"Hey, Chang!" 

Wufei turned and mentally groaned. Derek "Hobbs" Killivan and Wes Janson from Red Squadron were walking up, huge grins on their faces. 

"Just get back?" Hobbs asked. 

"Yes." Wufei answered shortly.

"Somebody's grumpy." Wes muttered. 

"When is he not?" Hobbs muttered back. 

"We'll see you later, Chang." Wes said, as he dragged Hobbs away. Wufei merely grunted in response, but gave a mental sigh of relief. 

* * * 

"Oh my." Midii whispered as they stepped off the small shuttle that had taken them from the refugee ship to the fueling station. It seemed as if the whole base had turned out to greet them. Quatre heard her whispered comment and grinned at her. 

"The Maguanacs are pretty family oriented." He said. "And I haven't been 'home' in a few years." 

"I guess." Midii said as they reached the ground. Abdul and Quatre were immediately met by two other men who seemed to be teasing them, while the rest of the crowd gathered round. All of a sudden a Twi'lek woman with pale violet skin and silver eyes ran and threw her arms around Abdul's neck. He laughed as he hugged her and then turned to Quatre. 

"This is my Ari." He said quietly. Quatre smiled at the Twi'lek and spoke in a foreign tongue. The woman's head tails twitched. 

"You know my language?" she asked, cautious excitement in her voice. 

"Not much." Quatre admitted. "But a little." 

Ari smiled, but seemed a bit disappointed. Quatre turned to Midii and held out his hand. Midii took it and walked to stand by him. 

"Auda, Ahmed, this is Midii Une." He said. The two men grinned at her and then said something that she didn't understand. Quatre's cheeks flamed red for an instant, then he shook his head and said something in a low voice. Midii was about to ask him what they had said when the crowd parted and a small, slim girl with long straight black hair and large, soft eyes ran up to Quatre and hugged him. Quatre laughed and greeted her. They spoke rapidly for a moment, the girl's eyes never leaving Quatre's face. Midii felt something akin to jealousy as she watched them together. The feeling left her surprised. She had always considered Quatre as a friend, albeit a close one. _It's probably because he's been the only person I've been with for the past few years_. She reasoned. 

"Midii," Quatre said. "I'd like for you to meet Savannah." 

"I'm pleased to meet you." Savannah said with a charming smile. Midii smiled back. Savannah turned back to Quatre. 

"Father will be so pleased to see you, and Mama too!" she said. "Come." She pulled on his arm. Quatre turned to look at Midii and held out his hand again.

"Maybe I should stay here and look after the baggage." Middi said quietly. Quatre frowned. 

"Why? Abdul's doing it. Besides, I want you to meet Rashid." He said. Midii hesitated, then joined him and Savannah. 

"Rashid is who?" Midii asked. 

"My father." Savannah answered. 

"And my mentor." Quatre told her as they walked. "He has been since I was, oh about twelve." 

"So you're not actually from here." Midii said softly. Quatre nodded. 

"I come from Alderaan, actually." 

Midii stopped. "You never told me that!" 

Quatre gave her a boyish grin. "You never asked." 

Midii couldn't help but smile back. "Well, I guess I didn't think of it." 

"Well, now you know." 

Midii shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder…" 

"Wonder what?" Quatre quietly asked. Midii smiled and shook her head. 

"Never mind." 

* * * 

"With all due respect, sir, it was the only way I could think of-" Wufie began, but was cut off. 

"Dammit Chang, do you know how little we have?" The commander exploded. He was a tall, rather imposing man. 

"I am aware, sir." Wufei sighed, feeling frustration rising up again. "And if you would just listen to me-" 

"I've had your report." The commander noted sourly. "And so have my superiors. You're back and that's all that matters to them. But Chang, don't go promising fees again, hear me?" 

"Yes, sir." Wufei answered tersely. The commander sighed and handed Wufei a datacard. 

"You've been chosen to go to a rendezvous point to transmit the information on those data cards to a Alliance ship that will be waiting for you. Major Po will accompany you." He said. 

"Yes, sir." Wufei answered, a little more calmly. 

"Get yourself a ship; you need to leave within two hours at the most." 

Wufei nodded, turned on his heel and left. As he exited the room, he saw Hilde and Duo walking up. 

"Hi!" Hilde said cheerfully. Wufei didn't even bother to smile. 

"What do you want?" he asked. 

"Gee, aren't we cheerful?" Duo muttered under his breath. Hilde's elbow dug into his ribs and Wufei glared at him suspiciously. 

"So, are you in the clear?" Hilde asked. "You weren't in trouble or anything?" 

Wufei directed his glance at her. "No." he lied. "But I've got another mission. If you'll excuse me, I need to get a ship." 

"Oh?" Hilde asked, getting that look again. Duo mentally groaned. 

"What about ours?" Hilde went on, before Duo could stop her. Wufei paused in mid-stride.

"What?" he said, turning. 

"We'll take you, well, if the place your going is on the way." Hilde said. "Where are you going?" 

"I don't know yet." Wufei said. 

"Oh well." Duo cut in. "Guess we can't take him after all." 

"What a pity." Wufei deadpanned and began to walk away again. Hilde turned to Duo, scowling. 

"Why did you go and do that for?" 

"Babe, I thought we've been over this. We aren't getting involved." 

"Duo, this is as much as our war as theirs. You know I've thought that for a while." 

"Yeah, they're just tryin' to change governments, Hilde." Duo said, with a sharp edge to his voice. "And when the Alliance is in control, what changes for us? Nothing. There'll still be tariffs, there'll still be goods people can't get and there'll still be people like us who live on the fringe and deliver." 

"Duo…" Hilde's voice trailed off and she shook her head. "Remember when we saw that fire fight on Deblin II?"

"Yeah. You almost got a laser bolt in your side." 

"Those people were willing to do whatever it took for their ideals and it struck me. We both know that the Empire is rotten and it's only a matter of time before they start hunting down fringe workers. I've been thinking a lot about this and when we met Wufei or whatever his name is and we got brought here…it's almost like, I don't know." She shook her head again. "I've just been thinking about the war for a long while, wondering if I could convince you to come with me…or to go on alone." 

Duo stiffened. "You would leave me?" 

"Duo, I never told you this, stormtroopers shot my parents down. They weren't even doing anything, just at the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess. For a while I was just content to stay out of the way, but when we were on Deblin II, all those feelings came back and I had to think…I don't know. I'm still confused. I just have the feeling that this is right." Hilde placed a hand on his arm. "We don't have to join officially. A lot of fringe don't. But we could at least give Wufei a ride." 

Duo sighed. "You're asking me to spend a least another three days with that dude." 

"I'll make it up too you." Hilde promised, stepping closer and putting her arms around his waist. "Please?" 

"You sound like a kid who wants a new toy." Duo commented. Hilde just looked at him. 

"Okay." He finally gave in. "I hate it when you stare at me like that." 

"Just be glad I don't do it too often." She smiled and kissed him briefly. "Come on, let's go find Wufei." 

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had a crush on him." Duo commented, as she dragged him away. 

"Duo!" Hilde said in an exasperated sigh. 

* * * 

__

Relena woke up and felt a slight disorientation, then remember where she was. Getting up, she moved down the cramped hallway into the cockpit. Dorothy was still there and looked up as Relena entered. 

"How far away is Alderaan?" 

"We have to make a detour at Celross III." Dorothy told her. "We have to re-fuel and get some more supplies. Then we make for Alderaan." 

"Oh." Relena was quiet. "Do you think we might be…hunted for?" 

"Possibly." Dorothy answered calmly. "Which is why, Highness, that you will stay in the ship and I will go out. I'll wear a disguise, but you don't unlock the door and let anybody but me in. Is that clear?" 

Relena nodded, too tired and too ignorant to argue. Dorothy was most likely right. Relena had no idea where the girl had gotten her knowledge of the galaxy and it's ways, but she was very highly trained. That was probably the reason why her father had chosen Dorothy for Relena's aide. At the thought of her father, Relena's chest constricted. 

"You don't think…I mean, my family…" Relena's voice trailed off. Dorothy glanced at her, then back at the ship's computer. 

"I don't know, Highness." She said quietly. Relena looked out the view port, at the bright blue and black of hyperspace and wished she knew how her family was. 

* * * 

"Do you understand the order?" the old man asked. 

"I do." The young man answered. 

"She is not to be seen alive; it must be understood that she was a traitor to the Empire and was executed accordingly." The old man said. "I don't think I need to remind you of the consequences if you fail." 

"I do not fail." The young man said without boasting. "It will be done." 

The old man smiled. "I certainly have you trained well." He said, with a dry laugh. "Now, get out of here before somebody sees you, Yuy." 

Heero Yuy gave a sharp nod and left the room. His target had last been seen on the hyperspace lane on the way to Sank. He looked down at the datapad and memorized the picture of the young Princess Relena. With luck, she would be dead before the week was out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jaid: *sign: "Heero's here now! Aren't you all happy?"*

Naga: *flatly* Ecstatic. 

Jad: Well, we had one former original character make an appearance. Name her and what story she comes from if you want to have the contest. Also, if you know, tell us what anime Ryou Bakura comes from. Remember, the prize is a song fic featuring any straight couple! So, just leave 'em in the reviews!

****

Respond to the Reader Time!!!!!

Fb2k – Sure! Okay, the set pairings are Midii/Quatre and Duo/Hilde. We may see some Heero/Relena in the sequel and third part to this trilogy, but not much in the first part. I am also going to try sticking Une/Treize and Sally/Wufei hints in as well, and I'm aiming for a Lucrezia/Zechs pairing too. Poor Dorothy and Trowa don't really get anybody tho. 

Ley – Thanx! I'm glad I'm doing a good enough job for you to feel that way!

Blue eyes – Um, I don't exactly understand your question…what do you mean?

Midii – Thank you! I'm so relieved that you and Ley commented on the Dorothy/Relena relationship. I've only seen about the first half of the series, so I've never seen Dorothy and Relena interact. I'm happy I'm getting it right. 

GREMLIN – lol, I love Star Wars too! I hope you are enjoying this story! 

Okay, that's it for now. Remember the contest!!! 


	6. Scene V

Jaid: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!!!

Jad: *sings* And a Happy New Year! 

Naga: Oh brother. 

Jaid: Come on, you can't be dark during the holidays! 

Naga: Humbug.

Jad: Oh great. We have our own personal Ebenezer. 

Naga: *grins* And proud of it too! 

Jad: Why do I even bother? 

Naga: That's a good question. Why do you bother?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

For A/N, comments to the reviewers, and updates on the contest, then go to the bottom. Enjoy the story!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Highness, we're here." 

Dorothy's voice startled Relena out of sleep. Rubbing the rather painful crick in her neck she straightened. "We're on Celross III?" 

"Yes. I'm going now. I just want you to come and seal the hatch behind me." Dorothy said. Relena unbuckled herself and followed the taller blonde. Dorothy pressed a few buttons and the door opened as the ramp lowered. She turned to Relena. 

"There's a viewpoint in the cockpit that allows you to see who's outside of the ship. Don't open it, unless you see me, alone. Understand?" 

"Yes." Relena nodded. 

"Good." Dorothy had put a loose, off white cloak over her jumpsuit and she put a hood over her head. "I'll try and be as quick as I can." She started to walk down the rampway. Relena reached over and closed the hatch, then sealed it, feeling very much alone. 

* * * 

Midii walked into the main hangar of the fueling station. Abdul passed and gave her a grin and waved with his grease-covered hand. 

"Quatre's over that ways, Mids." he said over the noise. "Be careful; he's worse than me at the moment." 

Midii smiled and went on her way. She found Quatre next to a smaller shuttle, his hands and some of his face streaked with the black grease. He had changed from his rather subdued, but still nice, clothes that he usually wore, into a pair of loose tan pants, and an off-white tunic. He was looking at an engine compartment and muttering to himself. 

Midii's smile turned into a grin and she tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled around, and his face broke out in to a smile when he saw her. 

"Hi." he said. 

"Hi yourself." Midii answered. She motioned to the basket she held. "Mara sent lunch for you and me to share." 

"That was nice of her." Quatre said. "Just a minute, I need to get cleaned up." Grabbing a rag, he wiped off his hands. 

"It's all over your face you know." Midii commented rather dryly. 

"Huh? Oh." Quatre rubbed his face. "That better?" 

Midii laughed. "I think you used the wrong side of the rag. It's worse." 

Quatre sighed. "Where's a mirror when you need one?" 

Midii laughed again and took the rag from his hand. "Here, I'll do it." 

Quatre stood still as Midii wiped his face off and she was suddenly very aware of how close she was too him. Abruptly turning she went to the basket and took off the cover. 

"Let's eat, okay?" she said, hoping he hadn't seen her blushes. Quatre shrugged and agreed. 

* * * 

"So, what exactly are we supposed to do?" Duo asked. Wufei ground his teeth; this was the third time he had explained to the baka. 

"Stop at the coordinate points and transfer the data." Hilde said, knowing that Duo was trying to get a rise out of Wufei. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he does it right." 

Wufei gave a sullen nod and Sally hid a smile behind her hand. She liked the young couple; both were friendly and easy to get along with. Well, at least for her. Duo seemed to be counting how many ways he could push Wufei's buttons. _Really, he's worse than Wes and Hobbs both!_ she thought. _Not to mention more successful._

Standing, she walked over to where the black-haired man stood, facing the wall. Hilde and Duo were engaged in a conversation. Sally leaned her back against the wall next to him. 

"If you just ignore him, he'd stop." she said in a low voice. 

"No he wouldn't." Wufei's voice came back in a deep rumble. "I think he honestly has a death wish." 

Sally chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Chang. Going to let some smuggler get the rise out of you?" 

Wufei's head snapped up, black eyes full of fire. "No." he bit out. All of a sudden, the fire died and he looked down again. 

"Wufei, what's wrong?" Sally asked, now concerned. She followed his gaze to where Hilde and Duo sat laughing and then saw some pain in his eyes. 

"I'm sorry, I forgot." she said. 

"Her ghost keeps following me." Wufei said quietly. "I don't think-" he broke off and stalked out of the room. Sally sighed and looked back down at the ground. 

* * * 

"This is the hyperspace vector?" Heero asked. The man who had handed him the datapad, nodded smartly. 

"Yes, sir." he answered in a crisp tone. 

"Tell me why you did not go after it?" 

The man, a mere aide, swallowed hard. "We were occupied. Sir." The 'sir' had been added hastily, as if an afterthought. Heero took no notice. 

"Perhaps you will allow me to see your superior before I leave." Heero said blandly. "I'm sure my employer would like to know why the Princess was allowed to escape." 

* * * 

"Are we there?" Sally asked as she and Wufei burst into the cockpit. 

"Yup." Duo answered, taking the ship off of autopilot. "I'm assuming that big blocky ship is our target?" 

"Yes." Wufei answered, giving the data pack to Hilde. She loaded them and began to ready the computer for information transfer. 

"Do you want to contact them?" she asked. Wufei leaned over the comm. 

"Tantaeve IV, this is the…The Lady Helen." Wufei said. 

"Lady Helen, we read you." The Alderaanian ship answered. "Do you have the clearance code?" 

"Transmitting now." Wufei answered, typing it in. There was a pause. 

"You're clear." 

Wufei nodded to Hilde, who started the transfer. 

"How long is this going to take?" Duo asked. 

"Not too long, I hope." Sally told him. 

* * * 

Dorothy pulled into another alley as a contingent of stormtroopers walked down the street. She didn't want to take any chances, though it was likely they wouldn't recognize her. What she really needed to look out for were bounty hunters at this point. 

She had already bought enough food supplies to last them, as well as bought some low grade weapons and a few changes of clothing as well as necessary items. All she needed to do right now was to get fuel and then beat it. 

So intent was she in her thoughts that she did not notice the Psadan until she had bumped into him.

"I apologize, good sir," she began in the traditional tone, but then she recognized him. "Saugn'de." She said dryly. 

The Psadan grinned, the sun reflecting off his blue/gold scales. "Miss Dorothy." He said with a heavy accent. 

"What does he want now?" 

Saugn'de frowned. "Information. He no happy." 

"Tell him that it'll take some time. I can't do this all in one night." Dorothy hissed. 

"He say can't hold off Empire much longer. They want Princess." Saugn'de warned. "He want to know where you go." 

Dorothy ground her teeth. "Alderaan." She said. "We're heading to Alderaan. Will he be happy with that?" 

Saugn'de grinned grotesquely again and bobbed up and down. "Yes, he be very pleased. Very pleased." 

"Good. Now get out of here." Dorothy said in obvious disgust. "I don't want to smell your stench for a very long time, hear me?" 

"Yes, Miss Dorothy." Still grinning, Saugn'de scuttled out of the alleyway and melted into the crowd. Dorothy sighed and headed for a comm station. 

* * * 

Heero boarded his shuttle and prepared to take off. He had questioned the ship's captain; not something he felt necessary, but his superior thought that inspiring fear at time was a good way to keep control. Punching in the coordinates, he again looked over the report he had been given. The Princess and an aide were the only ones missing from the ship. He looked over the aide's information and raised an eyebrow. Duchess Dorothy Catalonia. This added a whole new twist. 

* * * 

Triton and the rest of the merc crew exited their main ship. They had stopped on a fuel station before going on. As was common with fuel stations, there were large enclosed platforms that the ships would land on to be fueled and sometimes fixed. The smell of grease, oil, and sweat was in the air, as well as the slightly stale taste of re-used air. 

The boss and a few others would handle the arrangements for the fueling, while the rest would probably head to the small, enclosed, make shift city that most fueling stations carried. Triton was no different. The job had been a hard one and had left them with Security forces on their tail. Triton wasn't even sure if they had out run them completely. 

"Hey, Bloom!" 

Triton turned to see a comrade.

"Yeah, Cloud?" 

"Look over there! Isn't that that kid from the Red Devils team?" the blonde man asked. He followed a lot of the swoop races and was a big fan of some of the swoop gangs. 

"I wouldn't know." Triton said, barely glancing at the slender blonde who sat a hundred or so yards away. 

"I wonder who that girl that he's with is." 

Triton glanced over again, and felt as if his heart had stopped beating. The girl had her back to him, but there was no mistaking that slender frame or the posture that held it. 

_No, it couldn't be her. She's dead…isn't she? _He thought. The girl turned and Triton saw a pale, angelic face framed with blonde hair. It was her. The girl who had betrayed his swoop gang years ago. 

Midii Une. 

* * * 

There was tenseness about the cockpit that Hilde did not quite understand. She supposed it had to do with Sally and Wufei being tense, which had rubbed off on her and Duo. The transfer was almost complete. Hilde sighed and leaned back in her chair. 

"Oh shavit." Duo muttered. 

"What? What is it?" Sally demanded. 

"There's a ship coming out of hyperspace and-" Duo didn't finish his sentence. 

"Lady Helen!" The Tantaeve IV frantically called. "Imperials have just come out of hyperspace; is there any way to speed the transfer up?" 

"No." Hilde answered. "It's almost done. Can't you hold them off?" 

"Not for long." The other said. "We'll do our best." 

"Maxwell," Wufei snapped. "Do you have laser turrets on this thing?" 

"Yeah, Major Po, stay up here with Hilde. Babe, take my chair." Duo stood and motioned to Wufei. "C'mon, I'll show you where they are." 

"Unidentified ship, this is the _Blockade_. Please designate yourselves." 

"Blockade this is the _Lucky Eight_." Hilde answered, using one of their cover names. 

"What is your business." The Imperial ship asked. 

"Temporary repairs." Hilde said. "We met with some pirates a couple of systems back and got damage." 

"What sort of damage?" 

Hilde glanced at Sally and then back to the comm. "May I ask why it's important?" 

"No, just answer the question." 

"We lost several of our stabilizers." Hilde answered. "The ship is old and we didn't want to risk-" She stopped abruptly as Sally got up and left. "We didn't want to risk going further without replacing them." 

"I see. Hold please." The comm shut off.

Hilde leaned back in her chair and looked at the transfer time. Just a few minutes. If they could hold off for a few more minutes…

Sally came back in and sat down. "I went to tell Wufei what you said. He's taking care of it." 

Hilde looked at her, confused. 

"In case they decide to inspect. I'm sorry about the damaged parts, but I'll help replace them later." Sally promised. Hilde smiled weakly to show that it was all right. 

"Lucky Eight, we will be pulling you in for an inspection. Please shut down." 

"But that's not-" 

"Please shut down." The comm shut off again. Hilde looked at Sally. 

"Do they know who you are?" 

"No, but they'll ask and they know who Wufei is too." Sally said, her face tight. 

"Transfer complete." A voice said. Hilde shut the computer off and cut the power. "Get Wufei and meet me in the cargo hold." 

* * * 

Midii walked quickly back to the enclosed city, smiling to herself. She had had a good time with Quatre. He seemed a lot happier here than anywhere else, she mused. Not paying attention to where she was going, she hit something solid. (A/N: Yep! It's the dreaded Make-Midii-Bump-Into-Trowa device that I so often use. ^__~) 

"You." She stepped back. "Nanashi…" 

"I have a name now." He said emotionlessly. "Triton." 

Midii looked down. "I see." 

"And what name are you going by this time?" He said, in the same monotone. Midii felt her cheeks flame. 

"My own." She said defensively. She looked up, to see his deep green eyes. Eyes that she had always gotten lost in and almost did so now, until she heard Quatre's voice behind her. 

"Midii, wait up! I'm coming home with you." 

Triton stared past her, to the slender young man walking up. Quatre put a hand on Midii's shoulder. 

"Something wrong?" he said, his voice amiable, but a guarded look in his green/blue eyes. 

"No." Midii managed to say. "I, this, I mean…" she fumbled for a few moments, then said quietly, "This is Triton. An…an old friend." 

"Oh." Quatre looked at her sideways for a moment, then extended his hand to meet Triton's. "Please to meet you. I'm Quatre." 

Triton nodded, shook Quatre's hand, then was on his way. Quatre watched him walk away and then turned to Midii. She was slumped against the wall slightly and he leaned a little over her. 

"An old friend?" He asked, sounding slightly worried. "Midii, are you all right? You've looked as if you'd seen a ghost." 

"I did." She murmured too low for him to hear. Looking up, she saw the concern in his face and smiled. "I'm fine, it was just a slight shock." She said with forced cheerfulness. Linking her arm through his, she began to walk. "Let's go home." 

"You're sure you're okay?" Quatre asked. 

Midii looked into his eyes again. _Should I tell him? Can I?_ She opened her mouth, then hesitated. _No, I can't. Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. That was the past. This is my future._

She smiled brightly at him. "Yes, I'm fine." She said reassuringly. Quatre seemed to relax and smiled back. Falling into step again beside her, they began to chat. 

_His past may be chasing him, but so is mine. _Midii looked at him again. _But I'm not going to let it ruin his homecoming. Not now._

* * * 

Relena was half asleep again, when the cockpit's computer announced a visitor. Calling up the viewpoint, Relena saw Dorothy. Quickly, she went and unsealed the hatch. 

"Stand back." Dorothy directed as she began to carry some things in. 

"Do you want me to help?" Relena asked. 

"Can you start the preflight checks?" Dorothy asked. Relena nodded and went back to the cockpit. About half an hour later, they were ready to go. 

"This is the _Misty Waters_, requesting permission to take off." Dorothy said to the docking bay directing tower. 

"Negative, Misty Waters. All ships are to be impounded." 

"What?" Dorothy said. "Impounded?" 

"Yes." 

The blonde glanced at Relena. "Affirmative." Dorothy cut off the communication and began to shut down the ship. 

"What are we going to do?" Relena asked worriedly. 

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." Dorothy murmured. Suddenly, she smiled. 

"Highness, come with me and let's get you some more suitable clothes. Then we're leaving." 

"But, if the Imperials are looking for our ship-" 

"Don't worry, I'll erase all mention of who we are." Dorothy told her. "You're just going to have to trust me, Miss Relena." 

Relena swallowed. "I know." 

"Then come." 

* * * 

"In here." Hilde said. Duo was in the cockpit, rewriting their log. She opened a compartment in the wall. It would barely squeeze both Sally and Wufei in. 

"You're joking." Wufei deadpanned. "There's no way she and I can fit in there." 

"It's the biggest space we have!" Hilde told him, a note of desperation in her voice. 

"Come on." Sally said, grabbing Wufei's arm. He scowled, but squeezed in with her. Hilde closed the compartment and ran to the stairway that led to the under part of the ship. Duo was already there. 

"Finished?" she gasped. 

"With the log, yeah." Duo answered. "What in the hell did he do to our stabilizers?" 

Hilde looked at the machinery that was blackened and twisted. "I dunno…a really fancy vibroblade?" 

Duo raised an eyebrow. "No vibroblade I know can do this." He sighed. "Why don't you get back up to the cockpit, hun. I'll begin repairs." 

"Right." Hilde answered. She ran up the stairs and towards the front of the ship, when a tremor occurred, knocking her down. Hilde felt the slight gravity shift as the ship was pulled in the Imperial Destroyer. Getting up, she continued to run and finally flopped down into the pilot's chair, gasping. Suddenly, the ship came to a jarring stop. Looking out of the viewport, she saw the Tantaeve IV was gone. 

"Lucky Eight, we are sorry for the inconvenience. Please continue with your normal business." The Blockade told her. Hilde blinked, then reached for the comm button. 

"Copy that, Blockade." She answered. The comm switched off and Hilde watched as the Destroy glided away, and then finally went into hyperspace. 

"Well, if that doesn't beat all." Hilde mused as she got up to go get Sally and Wufei out. 

* * *

That night, Midii leaned against the large viewport. Most everyone else was asleep, she mused. It was late. Closing her eyes, she began to think of when she had first met Triton. 

_Midii stumbled through the sparse and dirty city. Hearing a click of a laser gun, she gasped and looked up. A boy about her age was holding a laser rifle, his one visible green eye fixed on her. She cringed and tightly grasped the small information transmitter hanging from her neck. The boy looked at her, then lowered the weapon. _

"You shouldn't be out in Mos Eisley this time of night." He said in a monotone. "It's dangerous." 

"I know." Midii swallowed. "But…I don't…" 

The boy stared at her some more, then jerked his head forward. Turning, he started to walk and with some shock, Midii realized that he wanted her to follow him. 

That had been five years ago, when she was only fourteen. How she had changed since then. Midii smiled wryly. She'd never guessed that she would run into him again. Not after what had happened. 

_Midii stood shakily, looking at the damaged swoops, the dead bodies and the bloody sand around her. Nanashi stood there, no expression on his face. Midii swallowed. _

"How much did they pay you?" he asked. Midii looked at him in surprise, clutching her transmitter. 

"The rival gang." Nanashi said. "How much?" 

"Enough to buy my father's freedom from Jabba the Hut." She whispered. 

"So that thing was the transmitter." Nanashi took his eyes off her face and lowered to her hand. "They followed our every move." 

"Yes." Midii stared at him. "And you're the only survivor. Again." 

Nanashi broke the luck necklace she had given him and tossed it on the ground. "Because of this?" he asked. 

"That charm held a transmitter in it too." She said. Nanashi pulled out his gun and pointed it at her. 

"So even you get mad." She said softly, sadly. She stepped forward a little. "When you saved me, you said I was you. But it's not true; you're a lot more fortunate than I am." 

For the first time, surprise showed on Nanashi's face. "Fortunate?" 

Midii slowly took off the transmitter off her neck and held it in her hands. "You don't have anything or anybody to tie you down. You don't have any name, any past and now, you don't even have comrades." Tears began to well up in her eyes. "I have a name, Midii Une! I have an imprisoned father and three little brothers." 

'I love…I love you.' She thought. 

"I couldn't have survived this long without making deals and spying for the gangs around here." She said aloud, clutching the transmitter. "I couldn't have survived without getting all these people KILLED!!" Tears were streaming down Midii's face. 'I longed to be like you.' 

She looked up at him again and took another step forward. "I can't even tell the guy I like how I feel about him and do you know why?" 

Nanashi didn't say anything, only looked slightly sad.

"Because I'm not EMPTY LIKE YOU!" she yelled, sobs catching in her throat. "I'm filled with things! My family! My job! MY GUILT!" her voice echoed through the empty canyon. 

'Always.' She thought. 'I wanted to be with you always, Nanashi.' 

"That's why…that's why I HATE empty guys like you." She cried. 'I loved you!' her mind shouted. 'I loved you!' 

"That all you have to say." He said calmly. Midii sniffed and looked at him in shock. 

"You really are empty." She whispered. 

"You're better off than me." He told her. "You have a place to call home." He raised the gun a little higher. "Good-bye, Midii." 

'He's going to kill me. But why shouldn't he?' Closing her eyes, Midii bowed her head. "Good-bye, Nanashi." She said softly, then inwardly cringed as she heard two blaster bolts. When she didn't feel any pain, she cautiously opened her eyes. Smoking in the sand were the two transmitters. Gasping she looked up. 

"Wait! Nanashi, wait!" she shouted. 

Nanashi stopped, but did not turn. "You got the wrong guy. I'm not No-name. I'm…I'm a traveler looking for a place to call home." He looked up. "And maybe the stars will give me the answer." So saying, he walked away. The red light from the setting of Tattooine's twin suns fell around the canyon as Midii just watched him go. 

"Midii?" 

The young woman turned to see a rather sleepy looking Quatre standing there, frowing. 

"What are you doing out here?" he asked. "It's late. Or early, depending on how you look at it." 

Midii smiled and then realized that she had been crying. Turning back to the view port, she wiped her eyes. Quatre came up behind her and she could feel his warm hands on her shoulders. 

"You're not okay." He sated. Midii laughed in spite of herself. 

"Just old memories." She said. 

"Really?" he asked. "Do you want to talk about it?" 

Midii shook her head and turned to face him. "I just didn't realize how much the past is still with me. I thought that when you took me off Tatooine, I'd be able to forget." 

"We never forget the past. It's what makes us." Quatre said softly. Midii looked up at him. 

"I guess your right." She leaned against. For a few moments, there was silence, then Midii pulled away. 

"I think I'll go to bed now." She said and started to walk away. "Oh, Quatre?" 

"Hm?" he looked at her. She opened her mouth and almost told him, then shook her head. 

"Never mind." She said, then walked away. Quatre watched her disappear down the hallway then looked back at the stars. There were times when Midii confused him. 

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****

Well, sorry about this update taking so long. I feel awful about it, but I'm afraid that updates will be few and far between. I am having a very difficult time at school, plus there's the holidays. I'm going to try to get some writing time in the summer, but that is doubtful because my mom wants me to get a summer long job at a camp. But I'm going to try!!!

Oh, and the past conversation between Midii and Triton (Trowa) I got mostly from Trowa's Episode Zero. I just changed a few things. ^__^ 

And now, it's time for: 

Respond to the Reviewers 

Blue eyes – Okay, I think that's been explained, but if your still confused: Heero's tracing Relena, Relena and Dorothy were headed to Celross III, and Wufei's group was headed to meet the Tantaeve IV. 

Ley – Thank you so much for the encouragement! It really means a lot to me. ^__^ 

Midii – Thanks. ^__^ lol, yup, Heero's got the impossible mission in this story. As for the picture, I'm kinda redoing it because to tell the truth…the first one sucked. As soon as I finish, I'll scan it and send it to you, okay? 

And now for the contest: 

Midii was the only one who tried! Come on you guys! Oh well. Midii got it right and I'm so glad you enjoyed the little scene with Ryou and Relena, Midii! Too bad he's a captive of the Empire, but he might resurface; you never know. (I like him too much to kill him off, lol). Do you watch Yu-Gi-Oh? 

Okay everybody, there was only one guest appearance this time. See if you can figure it out. Have fun! 


	7. Scene VI

Jaid: Lalalalalala!

Naga: Is that supposed to be singing? 

Jaid: Uh-huh! I'm happy! ^___^ I luv Christmas break. 

Naga: You have to go through exams first. 

Jaid: . Sure, ruin my mood…

Naga: Just trying to help. 

******************************************************************

"Give me some room, onna." 

"I can't!" Sally hissed in exasperation. "This place wasn't made for two people." 

"You think?" Wufei growled sarcastically. 

Sally blew out a breath in an effort to keep calm. She noticed that Wufei got 'cranky' when he was trapped in a situation that he had no control over. Which was the majority of the time, now that she thought about it. 

"I hope they don't have heat sensors." She said idly. 

Wufei rolled his eyes. 

"Well, I don't." Sally drove her elbow into his back. Wufei gave a slight grunt. Sally smiled in some satisfaction, then grunted as Wufei nudged her back. Sally retaliated, driving her elbow in harder. Wufei, who was facing the door, pushed her back against the wall with his body. Sally hit the wall and then pushed him against the door…just as Hilde opened it. The girl cried out and jumped back as Wufei fell to the ground, Sally on top of him. 

"What is wrong with you two?" she demanded. Sally was laughing hopelessly and couldn't answer. Wufei pushed her off of him and stalked out of the room, but not before Sally saw the bright red his face was becoming. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``````````

"You okay?" Duo asked softly. He and Hilde were in the cockpit. 

"I swear, I almost had a heart attack." She answered. Duo smiled and squeezed her hand. 

"Still want to join them?" 

Hilde was quiet. "Yeah. Yeah I do." 

Duo nodded and looked out the viewport. "Okay." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

"We are honored to have you here, sir, but I can assure you that all the ships have been searched, but no criminals-" 

"I am not looking for mere smugglers or mercs." Heero broke into Commander Torquin's nervous speech. "These people could appear as you or I, but they are traitors who need to be dealt with." 

Torquin nodded. "Of course. We are doing the best we can. Perhaps we can notify you if we find something…?"

Heero gave a sharp nod. "That is acceptable." With that, he turned on his heel sharply and strode out of the room. It wouldn't hurt to look around the city. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Simulation is complete. Winner is player 1. Please exit capsule." The computerized voice announced. The young woman smiled wryly as she exited and brushed away some of her dark hair. The other player also came out, then shook her head. 

"I don't get it, Lucy." She said, blinking red eyes that were a symbol of non-human heritage. "I've gone over every strategy so far and you still can kick my ass." 

Lucrezia Noin laughed. "Well, you'll get me one day, Kagura." She said. Kagura shrugged, tucking some black hair behind her ear. 

Both women had the rare position of being female TIE pilots. Added to that, they were in one of the most famous squadrons, The 181st. Kagura's position was doubly rare, since she was more than half alien and it was well known the Emperor did not regard aliens favorably. 

"Oh joy, here come The Three Bakas." Kagura made a face. Three young man passed by and their leader gave Kagura a wink. She replied with a dangerous glare. Lucrezia shook her head and continued walking. 

"Tonight we have off!" Kagura sang as she caught up with her friend. "What are you going to do?" 

"Stay in my room." Lucrezia answered. 

Kagura made a face. "How boring." 

"I'm going to call my family. It's Mom's birthday. We'll probably talk for a while." 

"I wish my family was as friendly as yours." Kagura said dryly. "As it is, I'm expecting my Dad to assassinate me at any second." 

"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?" 

"Nope." Kagura said, but there was a glint in her eye. "I'll see you later. I'm going to go to the gym before I shower." 

"Bye!" Lucrezia called before entering the wash rooms. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

Midii loaded the dish cleaning machine, hearing some of the Maguanac's small children playing 'outside'. Quatre had invited her to see other parts of the enclosed city, but she had lied, telling him she didn't feel well. The house was the only place she felt sure she would not run into Nanashi…or Triton as he called himself. 

Feeling rather guilty for the fact that she had lied to Quatre and also having the guilty pleasure of being comfortable in her cowardice, she walked out into the living room. She flopped down on the couch and sighed deeply. She couldn't get his green eyes out of her mind. She could still see them boring into her. 

"Aunt Midii?" 

The blonde looked down to see a tiny brunette. She smiled. "Hello, Rin. Do you need something?" 

"No." Rin shook her head. "Uncle Quatre just asked me to come and check on you 'cause he was worried." 

"Well, you can tell him I'm fine." 

Rin nodded and headed for the door. 

"Rin?" 

The girl turned. "Yeah?" 

Midii sighed and wondered if she was going to regret this. "Wait up. I'll come with you." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're certain of this?" Rashid asked, as he and Quatre looked over the base. They were in an office like building, where Rashid kept files and money. There was a wide viewport that allowed one to see some of the small, artificial city. 

"It was her. But she didn't kill me." Quatre said. 

"Her timing was off. She'll only kill at twilight." Rashid rumbled. Quatre sighed. 

"I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have come here…" 

"Don't worry about it, Master. Twilight Sazuka is an assassin, but she has honor. She won't attack if innocents are hurt." 

Quatre smiled. "I suppose that is spoken from experience?" 

Rashid chuckled. "Partly." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

"Where to now?" Duo asked. 

"Yavin IV." Sally answered. 

"Geez, you guys like the number four or somethin'?" Duo muttered. Hilde poked him in the side. 

"Oh, by the way, Wu-man." Duo drawled casually. 

The dark haired rebel twitched. Sally tried not to smile. 

"You kinda owe me for those stabilizers you wrecked." Duo continued, punching in coordinates for Yavin.

"Hn." Wufei grunted, crossing his arms and glaring at the back of Duo's head. "Not entirely my fault, baka. The onna here-"

"Oh no, you are going to pin this on me." Sally interrupted. 

"How'd you do that anyway?" Hilde asked. 

"Yeah, dude. The Rebellion handing out heavy power vibro blades or something?" 

Wufei's jaw had tightened. "That is none of your business." He growled. Duo shrugged and decided to drop it…for now. Pulling back a lever, the ship jumped into hyperspace. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`````

"Down here." Dorothy whispered. Relena couldn't help but grimace as they squeezed past two rather large Dundruns who had had too much liquor recently. 

"Are you sure it's safe down here?" she whispered. 

"Safer than in the hands of the Imperials." Dorothy responded with the slightest bit of wolfish humor. 

They were in the "bad" section of Neeron; the city they had landed at in Celross III. Relena had never seen anything like it and she would have preferred not to have the experience. It was all dirt, mud and garbage. People shouted at each other, ribald signs pointed ways to where you could purchase things most normal people didn't want to think about, and the sound of people fighting, weapons being discharged made a sharp contrast to the almost noiselessness of some areas. Relena didn't like it much. 

"Where are we going?" Relena asked. 

"Somewhere safe." Dorothy answered. "No more questions." 

"Dorothy, I am not a child." Relena stated stubbornly. "I think I should be allowed to know where we are going." 

"It would take to long to explain, Highness." Dorothy said, grabbing Relena's arm and pulling her. "Trust me." 

Relena's lips pursed but she nodded. "I expect you to explain whenever we get to…wherever we're going." 

A smile tugged at Dorothy's lips. "Of course, Miss Relena." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

"Hey, Bloom." 

Triton looked up from the piece of machinery he was tweaking. "Bit." 

"I was just wondering if you knew where the boss was." Bit said. "I gotta talk to him about this part we need." 

Triton nodded a direction and watched the blonde walk away. Bit was the group's main mechanic, though he wasn't a bad pilot. The guy had an ego the size of a solar system and the annoying habit of not curbing that ego, but he was an easy-going, laid back guy that Triton found himself alternatively irritated or amused by Bit. 

"Excuse me." 

Triton looked up again. It was the swoop rider that Cloud had pointed out yesterday. 

"Yes?" 

"I don't know if you remember me from yesterday-" 

"You were with Midii." 

Quatre nodded. "Yeah, I was." He was quiet for a moment. "Look, I just…I don't know why I came over here. She was really upset seeing you yesterday." 

"She would be." Triton nodded, picking up his tools and going over to the container that held them. Dumping them in, he rummaged around a bit and found the one he was looking for. Turning, he realized that the blond was still there. Something occurred to him as he studied Quatre. Small, slender, pale blonde hair, fair skin and innocent expression. 

"You one of Midii's brothers?" he asked, kneeling by the machinery he was working on. 

"No." Quatre answered slowly. "I wasn't aware she had them." 

Triton looked up. Midii's family had always been the biggest thing in her life. He couldn't help but wonder if something had happened…shaking the thought away, he looked back down. 

"Maybe you should ask her." He said softly. "It's not good for partners to be kept in the dark." 

"Maybe not." Quatre answered in a soft tone as well. Triton heard him walk away. He looked up and watched as Quatre exited the hanger. Something in that boy's eyes had stirred something in him. Triton shook his head again and dropped his tool in the container. It didn't look like he'd get much work done today. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``````

Humming to herself, Lucrezia came back into her room, running fingers through her still wet hair. Walking over to the desk comm, she smiled in expectation as she typed in the number for her family. 

A few minutes later, a dark haired woman's face appeared. "Lucy!" 

"Hi, Mom. Happy Birthday!" Lucrezia said. Her mother laughed and called the family over, much to the young woman's delight. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```

The tall young man walked down the hallway. Coming the other way was a dark haired woman with red eyes. 

"Kagura." He said. The woman stopped sharply and saluted. 

"Yes, sir?" 

"At ease." 

Kagura relaxed slightly. 

"Have you seen Lt. Noin?" 

A slight smile tugged at her lips. "No, Commander, I have not. I believe she was going to spend the evening in her rooms, sir." 

"Thank you. Dismissed." 

Kagura watched him walk down the hallway and then laughed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

Lucrezia was laughing at a story her younger brother was telling when there was a beeping sound, announcing a visitor. 

"Just a minute, kid." She said. Standing, Lucrezia went and opened the door. 

"Oh, Commander-" 

"We're off-duty." 

Lucrezia smiled softly. "Zechs then. Can I help you with something?" 

"Not really. I was going out for a drink and wanted to know if you would come with me." 

Lucrezia hoped she wasn't blushing. She had been waiting for an invitation like this since she had been training with him…but the noise on the comm made her remember what day it was. 

"Sorry, I can't. It's my mother's birthday and…" she let her voice trail off. Zechs nodded. 

"I understand. Enjoy your time with them." He said and waving bye, he walked away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

"I can't believe you did that, Kagura." Bentaro laughed. Kagura narrowed her eyes, then punched the door command. Lucrezia, her roomate, sat at the desk comm, still as a statue. There was only fizz on the display. 

"Lu?" Kagura said. Lucrezia turned to her. The woman's face was white with shock. 

"Bentaro, beat it." Kagura snapped, not turning. Bentaro stepped back and allowed the door to close. 

"What is it?" 

"It doesn't exist." Lucrezia mumbled blinking. "It just disappeared." 

"What are you talking about?" Kagura said. 

"Alderaan. My planet. One minute I was talking to my family and the next…static. I tried to re-open communications, but the computer said that the planet doesn't exist." 

Kagura pulled her out of the chair. "Of course it exits. Damn computer's broken or something." She said, typing furiously. Lucrezia nodded and sat on the bed. 

"Kagura!" Bentaro burst in. "There was a news cast in the rec room. Some planet just exploded." 

Lucrezia's face went completely white again. 

"Shit." Kagura spat then turned the full fire of her gaze on Bentaro. "Get out, _krish'na._" She hissed. Bentaro gulped and backed out quickly. Kagura turned back to her friend. 

"Lu?" 

"Oh my gods." Lucrezia gasped. "Oh my gods, no." 

"It's fake. It can't be. The only way for a planet to do that is to crash into it's sun and they would have evacuated Alderaan if that was the case. Lu? Lu, are you listening to me?" 

"Then why does the computer say that Alderaan suddenly no longer exits?" Lucrezia asked. Her voice was low and slightly shaky, but calm. 

"I don't know." Kagura admitted. Lucrezia swallowed. 

"Could I be alone for a little bit, please?" she whispered. Kagura nodded. 

"Sure." She said softly, stepping out of the room. 

*************************************************************

Jaid: Some sadness there, but at least my second fav female chara was introduced. 

Jad: I thought Lu was your favorite. 

Jaid: Now for the A/N and all that stuff. 

****

Guest apperances: Kagura, Rin, Bit, and Bentaro. Twilight Sazuka was mentioned, but she hasn't shown up per say yet (meaning we haven't done a scene with her), so it doesn't matter if you count her or not. Good luck guessing! (If somebody knows where Bentaro comes from, they get a double kudos from me [and you don't count Kelley, if you're reading this!]) 

Respond to the Reviewer 

Okay, just one thing to say before I begin: where did you guys all go? I only got two reviews for the last chatper! Two!!! *sigh* Okay, rant over. 

Blue eyes – Thank you for the encouragement! ^__^ 

Midii Une – Ehh, I'm hoping that little flashback will come up soon…I just haven't found a place to put it. 

Contest Results!!!

Well, we had two tries this time and I'm very happy! 

Blue eyes – Nope, sorry. He's my own made up character. 

Midii – Yup. But he's the only FF character that's going to show because I don't know much about it. 

Keep trying!!! 


	8. Scene VII

Jaid: Hi guys! Long time no see! Sorry about the long space in between updates. My vacation was totally crazy, and then I got the stomach flu. 

Jad: She had to go to the emergency room. 

Jaid: Yeah, and they took test and I got an IV and everything!

Jad: You're excited about this? 

Jaid: Well…yeah. I've never had an IV in me before! 

Jad: …

Jaid: ^__^ 

Jad: You've been around Naga too long…

Jaid: -__-; 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lucrezia carefully looked at the dark hallway, then looked back at where Kagura slept. Carefully slinging a bag over her shoulder, she exited the room and jogged silently down the hallway. 

Entering the hangar some time later, she looked around for her TIE fighter. Looking down at the clearance card Kagura had given her, she silently thanked her friend, knowing how much it could cause the woman if they were found out. Un-latching the seals, she shoved the bag in, and was about to climb in herself, when a voice spoke. 

"Lt. Noin." 

Lucrezia jumped and nearly fell off. She looked down. Zechs stood there. Jumping down, she faced him, face pale but set. 

"A little late for a practice run, isn't it?" Zechs said coolly. 

"I'm not practicing, Zechs." She whispered. There was a silence as they looked at each other. 

"The penalty for defecting is death." He said softly. 

"Only if you're caught." 

"The arm of the Empire is long." 

"There are some places even the Empire can't reach." 

Another pause. 

"They destroyed my home." Lucrezia looked up at him, into his ice blue eyes. "I can't serve a government that just blew up my planet." 

"How-" 

"Kagura found out from her family." 

"You've been planning this." 

"For the last week." Lucrezia looked down again. "She doesn't know I was planning to leave." She hated lying to him, but Lucrezia wasn't going to let Kagura suffer if Zechs decided that he had to report her defection.

"You're forcing me into a hard place, you know that?" 

"Yes." Lucrezia said, still looking down. Zechs gently placed his hand under her chin and lifted her gaze to his. 

"I understand." He said simply, then turned away. "I was walking in the gardens; as far as I knew, all my pilots were in their quarters." Then he walked away. Lucrezia looked after him. 

"Thank you." She whispered, then turned and climbed into the cockpit. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Midii looked up as Quatre entered, looking, for once, tired and vaguely stressed. For some reason she felt her throat tighten as he simply stood in the doorway, thoughts elsewhere. 

"Quatre?" she said softly. He jumped slightly and looked at her. Noticing the worry in her eyes and voice, he smiled. 

"Hey." 

"Hey back." Midii said. Quatre took off his cloak and hung it up, then walked in. 

"You hungry?" she asked. 

"Yeah." 

Midii nodded and set the table. Quatre washed his face and hands, then looked at the mirror. Questions were whirling in his head. Alderaan had blown up. The causes weren't known. Quatre swallowed a lump in his throat and blinked back tears. He should've gone home before; tried to apologize to his father. But now it was too late. 

"Quatre?" 

He turned at the sound of her worried voice. She stood in the doorway of the bathroom, looking at him with concern in her wide gray eyes. Midii walked up to him. 

"Are you all right?" 

Quatre smiled weakly and shook his head, not trusting his voice. 

"Well, let's eat then." Midii said slowly, not believing him. Quatre followed her to the table. Dinner was quiet and he barely ate. Midii couldn't eat either, not with him staring off in space, looking as if his world had crashed down around him. 

"Mids." He said huskily. 

"Yeah?" 

Quatre swallowed. "Remember I promised to take you to Alderaan?" 

"Yeah." 

He looked down, blinking. "I'm not going to be able to keep that promise." 

"Why?" 

"The planet-" his voice cracked and he tried again. "The planet doesn't exist anymore." 

Midii looked at him confused. 

"It blew up, Midii." Quatre's voice was low and thick with unshed tears. "I just found out." 

"I see." She said distantly, somehow not able to believe it. Midii looked at him. He held a hand over his mouth and his eyes were closed. A tear rolled down his cheek. 

"Cat?" she used a nickname she hadn't used in years. 

"My family-" he broke off, and started to sob. Midii stared at him for a moment, suddenly frightened. She had never seen Quatre cry in the years they had been together. He'd always been so strong. Now he was shaking with sobs. Dropping her utensil, she got up and put her arms around him. Tears were streaking down her face; not for herself, for she had never seen Alderaan, but for him and whatever he had lost there. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Duo tapped his fingers on the table while he and Hilde waited for Sally and Wufei to come and enlighten them as too why the Yavin base had been in a state of panic when the Lady Helen had arrived. Duo looked at his partner. She was staring at the wall blankly. He blew out a breath and stretched in his chair. 

The door swooshed open and the two aforementioned Rebels entered. 

"About time." Duo commented standing. "What's up?" 

"A lot, apparently." Sally answered, sitting in a vacant chair. Hilde turned towards her and Duo sat again. Wufei opted for leaning against the wall. 

"The Tantaeve IV was not only our contact ship, but also the ship that carried Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan." Sally began. "The Imperials apparently took the Tantaeve IV prisoner, but the Princess managed to get the plans off the ship." 

"How?" Duo asked. 

"She downloaded them into an R2 unit and directed it to an escape pod, apparently." Sally said. "They were above the planet Tatooine." 

"You're kidding." Duo said flatly. "That hell hole?" 

"Duo." Hilde sighed. 

"Yes." Sally answered with a slight smile. "The droid and its counterpart, a 3PO unit were found by a band of Jawas. I assume you know what those are." 

"Sneakiest little scrappers in the galaxy." Duo stated cheerfully. 

Sally nodded. "Anyway, the droids were bought by a farmer. The farmer's son-" 

"Nephew." Wufei interrupted. 

"Sorry. The nephew found the last part of the Princess' message. I'm still not sure how he got the droids and plans here, but our techs already slicing into the disks." 

"Plans for what?" Hilde asked. 

"A machine the Empire recently built." Sally answered. "They call it the Death Star." 

"I don't like the sound of that." Duo commented. 

"You shouldn't." Wufei said softly. "It has the power to blow up an entire planet." 

There was a moment of silence. 

"By all the gods…" Duo muttered. "What the hell did they want that for?" 

"There is some speculation, which I don't have time to give you." Sally stood. "Wufei and I are due for a briefing as is the rest of the base." She paused. "I understand you two signed up?" 

"Yes." Hilde confirmed, also standing. 

"Figures we'd sign up when there's about to be a battle." Duo commented. "I assume an assault on the Empire is in short order?" 

"Sooner than you think. Princess Leia is sure that the Imperials have tracked her escape ship." Sally said, opening the door. 

"Of course they would." Duo commented. 

"They would what?" Hilde asked as they exited the room. 

"Figures that they would be competent when it **really** matters." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Relena sat half asleep in the room that had been her world for the past four days. At least she thought it had been four days. Time had blended together for a while now. The door opened and she looked up. Dorothy entered, a tall red headed man behind her. Relena stood. 

"Miss Relena, this is Gene Starwind." Dorothy said softly. "He says he can get us off this planet." 

"To where?" Relena asked, slightly uneasy. 

"To Coruscant." Gene answered. "Best place for you guys to hide." 

Relena glanced at her companion, not sure. 

"He's right." Dorothy said in the same hushed tone. "The underground is the best place. And the best place where we can do something." 

Relena nodded. She looked at Gene. 

"Isn't this dangerous for you, Mr. Starwind?" 

He grinned, dark blue eyes lighting up. "Me and my crew are used to danger." He said. "Besides, I could never resist a damsel in distress." 

Relena couldn't help but smile back. Something about the confidence of his face and voice comforted her somewhat. She looked back at Dorothy. "When do we leave?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Triton sat underneath one of the merc ships. Nearby, Bit was muttering to himself while he worked through an engine. Triton had been helping, but now his mind was on other things. 

Although he knew that the group had taken a lot of damage, a week still seemed to be a long time to wait in one place, especially with law enforcement after them. He'd puzzled over it all day…

Well, not all day. He had found himself thinking of a certain young woman, but was puzzled about her as well. Meeting Midii again had awakened feelings he didn't know he had possessed, as well as memories he had long forgotten. 

When he had met her, Triton had felt the first stirrings of pity he had ever felt. There had been something so defenseless about her, which led him to put down his guard. And then she had been an apparent orphan; somebody with no one. Like him. 

When her betrayal had come out, he hadn't felt surprised; he had turned against friends before as well. Betrayal was a part of street life if you were to survive. It was her reason that had caught him slightly off guard. She had been willing to sacrifice anything to save her family. Back then, he wondered what it would have been like to love someone like that. Since finding his sister, Triton felt he understood. He and Midii really weren't so different after all. 

Triton's musings were interrupted as Cloud called to them. He walked over. 

"What's up?" Bit asked. 

"Boss says to be prepared to leave at any minute." Cloud answered. "I think he's getting jittery." 

"We've been in this place for too long." Triton commented quietly, standing and tossing a tool into its container. "I don't understand it." 

Cloud shrugged. "We'll be leaving soon. Boss just wanted you to know." He walked away. Triton shared a glance with Bit. 

"I didn't think of it before, but it is kinda weird." The blonde man said. Triton nodded, turning away. 

"I'm going into the city. Think you can handle the rest?" 

Bit rolled his eyes. "As if you were helping much anyway. Go on, get out of here." 

Triton smiled a bit and nodded, then quickly walked towards the exit. Shaking his head, Bit got back to work. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Duo had been ancy for most of the briefing. An older man, Jan Dodonna, had briefly explained the station's capabilities, and now was telling how it was possible to destroy it. 

"You will fly down this passageway to the port hole. It is about two meters wide and can accommodate a smaller missile. If shot correctly, the missile will start a chain reaction causing the station to blow up." Jan finished as the vid that had been playing came to a stop. 

"Two meters?" a dark haired pilot spoke up. "That's impossible." 

"It's not impossible." 

Duo looked over at the young, fair-haired man who had spoken. A boy really. His face was earnest. 

"I used to shoot wamp rats all the time in my T-16 back home and their not much bigger than two meters." The boy continued with a confidence that made Duo smile. He glanced at Hilde. 

"He's not much older than us." She reminded him underneath her breath. Duo was about to answer, when out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar head of brown hair. Looking around, he then saw a familiar Wookie. 

"Hey, look who's here." He whispered, as Jan was answering some more questions. 

"Oh my." Hilde struggled not to giggle. "Of all people." 

"Yeah." Duo grinned. 

"I think we've covered the most important points." Jan inadvertently interrupted their conversation. "Man your ships and may the Force be with you." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

Zechs stood stock still as inspections were held. Lucrezia's disappearance had caused a rather small frenzy, but another promising pilot had soon replaced her. 

Although his face was impassive, Zechs' thoughts were almost racing. Lucrezia had left because the Empire had destroyed her home. He couldn't blame her. The Empire had destroyed his home; they had completely taken it over and his sister had been executed as a traitor. And what made even more like betrayal was that his childhood friend, Trieze Khushrenada, was now the ruling Moff of Sank. 

It was too much. He'd been planning his own escape for a while now. All he needed was the right moment. Then the Empire would be without one TIE pilot forever. He'd joined the Empire with the goal of toppling it. It was about time he started. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Jaid: Hope you guys liked it! I'm not sure how updates will be going, since I've posted two new stories. Maybe you guys could check 'em out and let me know what ya think! They are "New Generation! I know cheesy title" (Yu-Gi-Oh!) and "A Second Chance" (Inu-Yasha). They are my first stories in each section-

Naga: Translation – they probably suck. 

Jaid: *hits him with frying pan* I'd really like to know your guys' thoughts on them. Thanks! 

Jad: Don't forget to Review!!! 

****

Time for…

Respond to the Reviewer!

Iris Omega – You reviewed! You actually read the thing! Oh, I'm so happy! Lol, ^__~

Midii – Thanx! Your encouragement has meant a lot to me. 

Blue eyes – It is sad, huh? But kinda necessary…I guess…I dunno! 

Ley – lol, well, I'm one of those writers who puts people they like through all sorts of bad stuff. Just read "On the Wild Frontier" and see what I did to Quatre. The guy gets shot twice!!!

And now, for the Contest 

Well, nobody ventured a guess last time. Oh well. Here are the answers. 

Kagura – Inu-Yasha. She's the demon of wind and one of Naraku's kids.

Rin – Inu-Yasha. She's the little girl Sessho-maru adopted. 

Bentaro – Jubei chan the Ninja Girl. He's the leader of the "unrefined" gang. 

Bit – I'm not saying yet, cause he's in this chappy too. So you guys get another chance. ^__^ 

For this chapter, the guest appearances were Gene Starwind and Bit Cloud. See you at the review board!!!


	9. Scene VIII

Jaid: Hi everybody! New chapter! Surprising, no? Gomen for the long wait. Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We're going to have to pilot these dinky things?" Duo kicked a Y-Wing. Hilde rolled her eyes as she climbed up the ladder. 

            "Just be thankful we're distraction and not actually going down that trench thing." She commented, climbing into the two person cockpit and going over shooting controls. Duo followed and settled himself into the pilots seat. He sighed, holding the helmet allotted to him in his hands. 

            "Hilds?" 

            "Yeah, hon?" 

            "Do you think we did the right thing?" 

            Hilde turned to look at him. "Yeah, I think we did." 

            Duo looked at her seriously. "We could die today." 

            "At least we'll die fighting for what we believe." 

            Duo smiled. "Yeah, you're right about that." Turning, he slipped the helmet on and his smile blew into a full blown grin. "Let's get this bad boy started." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Wufei typed something quickly in the computer and looked at the map above him. 

            "Good luck." A wry voice behind him said. Wufei turned. Sally stood there, her medic uniform on. 

            "I don't envy communication jobs." Sally commented. Wufei nodded then, slipped his headphone/microphone on. "It gets confusing." 

            "You need a clear head." Wufei typed some more, calling up the last few squadrons to show up on the map. Sally smiled a little, then reached out a hand to touch his shoulder. Then she walked away. Wufei looked after her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

            Heero paced the room, coming as close as he had ever come to frustration. No sign of the princess. He still walked back and forth, trying to come up with where she would go. 

            "Sir." A young commander stood in the door way. Heero looked up. 

            "A ship named the Outlaw Star just left orbit." The commander hesitated. 

            "And?" 

            "They had four registered beings on board; a droid, an alien and two humans." 

            Heero nodded, his features betraying no emotion. 

            "However, a heat scanner we sent detected two more life forms." 

            Heero frowned. It could very well be illegal slaves, immigrants…or it just might be…

            "Where was the ship headed?" 

            "I'm not sure, sir." 

            "But you are going to find out?" 

            "Yes, sir." The commander hastily saluted and left the room. Heero leaned against the wall, deep in thought. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            "We're leaving today." 

            That's what Cloud had told Bit and Triton. The blonde had nodded, while Triton had merely stayed motionless. 

            'I need to see Midii.' He thought. He had seen her since, sometimes in the crowd at the market, at other times with the slender young man with deep eyes. Triton wondered about the both of them. Tearing his thoughts away, he stood. 

            "Not going to finished breakfast?" Bit asked. 

            "Not that hungry." Triton headed for the hatch-way. "I'm taking a little walk, okay?" 

            Bit shrugged. "Whatever. See ya around." 

            Triton nodded, then left. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Catherine had just finished another show and was climbing off the stage when she noticed a young woman sitting at a table alone. There was something in the woman's face that twisted Catherine's sensitive heart and she found herself walking over. 

            "Hi." She said, and smiled. The woman looked up. 

            "Hello." She answered in a low, pleasant voice. 

            "I'm Catherine. Mind if I sit?" 

            The other woman blinked, but then shook her head. The red-head sat quickly. 

            "Look, I know it's none of my business, but you look absolutely heartbroken and I just had to come over here and…" she trailed off. 

            "And what?" 

            "I don't know." Catherine admitted. The woman smiled slightly. 

            "I just lost my family." She said quietly. "It was quite a blow." 

            "Yeah, I'd imagine." Catherine said sympathetically. "I know how that is. I lost my family when I was real little. But I did find my brother again, so I'm thankful for that." 

            The other woman nodded, but the ever present pain in her eyes made Catherine weep inside. 

            "Do you have a place to stay?" she asked on impulse. 

            "Well, no-" 

            "I have an extra room. Why don't you stay with me until you find out where you're going?" 

            "That's very kind of you, but…" the woman hesitated. "Don't you think that's a little dangerous? I mean, asking a stranger to spend the night with you like this?" 

            Catherine grinned. "Well, to tell the truth, if you were a guy, I wouldn't be asking this. But it's not like I'm defenseless or anything…I don't know. You really seem like you need a friend. How about it?" 

            The woman thought for a little bit. "Okay." She finally decided. "I'm Lucy by the way." 

            "Nice to meet you Lucy." Catherine smiled. "You can call me Cathy." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            "Sir!" 

            Heero turned as the young commander ran up. "Yes?" 

            "We've found their hyperspace trail." 

            "Then get on to it." Heero ordered. The commander saluted. 

            "Yes, sir!" he said quickly, running out of the room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            Triton took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The little girl had told him this is where Midii lived. 

            A few moments later, the door whooshed gently open and Midii stood there, a hopeful look on her face. As soon as she saw Triton, the look fell. He winced inwardly. Obviously he hadn't been the person she had wanted to see. 

            "Triton." She said softly. 

            "I wanted to come see you." He told her. 

            "Oh." Midii seemed to hesitate, then moved away from the door. "I suppose you should come in." 

            Triton nodded and entered. Midii led him to the living room area and he sat on the sofa, while she stood near the view port. 

            "I'm leaving pretty soon." Triton began. "I just…I wanted to say good bye this time." 

            Midii nodded. "Yeah." She turned to him. He looked so calm, so assured. Midii could only hope that her tumulting feelings didn't show up on her face. There was a silence in which neither said anything. 

            Triton looked at the angelic blonde and felt a twinge of regret. What would have happened, he thought, if he had chosen to stay with her, or asked her to come with him?

            For her part, Midii was struggling with her past love and Quatre's ever present place in her thoughts. She was sure she cared deeply about Quatre, but what was Triton to her? The emotions swirled inside and she had no way to describe them, even to herself. 

            Triton abruptly stood. "There's something I want to know." He said, walking closer. "Why him?"

            "Pardon?" Midii looked up at him startled. 

            "Why did you go with him? What about your family?" Triton asked. The Midii he remembered would have never abandoned her family. 

            Midii looked away. "They're gone." She said, voice cracking. "A long time ago. Tatooine is a harsh planet. A lot of people don't make it." She looked back up at him and her blue/gray eyes held tears. "Jabba executed my father after taking the money I gave him. Simply because he felt like it. After that, I did what I could to provide for the boys, but…" she broke off and slumped against the wall, tears running freely. "I couldn't do it! Robert and Thomas were killed in a shoot out near a bar. Robert was killed instantly, but Thomas hung on to life and I thought he was going to make it. But he didn't. Aiden…" Midii let out a shaky breath. "I don't know where he is. He just left one day and didn't come back. He could be dead or a slave or who knows what else." She bit her lip, trying to get a hold of herself. "I couldn't pay my debts and the collectors were threatening to sell me to get the money I owed them. They had me up on that block, people bidding for me, and I was sold. To a young man." Midii smiled. "As soon as I was delivered, he showed me the certificate of ownership and then erased it. 'Do you know what that means?' he asked. 'It means you're free.' And he let me go. But I didn't have a place, so I offered to work for him on his ship. He agreed and…well, it's been an interesting few years." She looked up at Triton. "I owe Quatre quite a bit; he paid a lot for me and he's been taking care of me these last few years." 

            Triton nodded. He almost wanted to ask if she would come with him if he asked, but there was a time when everybody needed to let go. Midii had found her place, he had found his. 

            Triton took her hand. "Then this is good-bye." He said softly. "I never forgot you; I don't think I ever will." 

            Midii nodded. "Same here, Nanashi." She answered in the same soft tone. 'But we all need to move on.' She thought. 'Yes move on. I've got Quatre now; and Triton has his friends. We'll both be okay.' 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Great skies." Duo muttered as they flew out to meet the Death Star. 

            Hilde nodded, unable to speak. A knot was in her stomach. Taking a deep breath, she turned back around and put her hands on the shooting controls. (A/N: In a Y-wing, the cockpit is big enough for two people. The pilot sits near the front, facing forward. The shooter can sit facing sideways to navigate or can sit back to back with the pilot to shoot.)

            "Blue Squardon, this is Blue leader. Head for the far side of the Base. We'll be trying to take down the TIE squadrons before they get to the trench. You guys get shoot at whatever you want though." 

            A chorus of cheers went through the airways and Hilde grinned as she heard Duo laugh. 

            "All right, all right. Seriously," the leader said. "Follow me and then spread out when we hit the right coordinates. Got it?" 

            Agreement was voiced. Hilde smiled, feeling the first tingling of adrenaline. 

            "Ready, babe?" Duo asked. 

            "More than ready." Hilde answered. "Better fly me close enough to hit stuff, fly boy." 

            "Yes, ma'am." Duo said enthusiastically. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Jaid: The next chapter will be the last. Then we're off to Act II! Aren't you all happy? Lol. 

**Ley – Yup! I love to hurt my favs! Of course, it's not so pleasant for them…**

**Blue eyes – Very soon; he will be getting out of there very soon. **

**KaT aka Mistress Shinigami – Glad you liked it!**

**Midii – Thanks! I'm so glad you liked that little scene! **

**Contest so far: **

**Ley, KaT, and Midii got Gene. KaT recognized Bit! (I was wondering if anyone would!) **

**There were no guest appearances for this chapter, so the contest is pretty much over. I'll be announcing the winner in the next chapter. **


	10. Scene IX and Curtains Close

**Jaid: *sheepishly walks in* Hi guys. Long time no see. Well, I'm back. I've recently gotten interested in GW fanfiction again, so expect more from me. **

**This chapter is dedicated too: Midii Une who reminded me that there were still people waiting for this chapter. *sweatdrop* Thanks Mids! **

**And thanks to all you patient people as well. **

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            "This is Blue 2. TIE fighters headed our way, Sectors 5 and 8." 

            "Great." Duo muttered. 

            "Come on, more practice for me." Hilde reminded him brightly. 

            "Yeah, well, you don't have to out maneuver the buggers." Duo said back. 

            "How long do you think is going to take?" Blue 3 asked. 

            "Hopefully not too much longer!" Blue 2 said. 

            "Ahh, sounds like some one's been in the cockpit too long, Ootogi!" Blue 4 quipped. 

            "Less chatter." Blue Leader commanded curtly. 

            "Hey, some help over here would be nice!" Blue 5 said in a rather panicky tone. 

            "Don't sweat it, 5." Duo said. "4 is on its way." 

            He turned and headed towards another Y-wing. Although their ship was rather out-dated, Duo showed considerable skill as he passed Five's ship, giving Hilde a clean shot at the TIE fighters. One blew up and the other spiraled down towards the surface of the Death Star. 

            "Thanks, man." 5 said gratefully. 

            "No prob." Duo grinned. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Sir?" 

            Heero turned. "Yes?" 

            The cadet fidgeted, then spoke. "We have a message for you. It's in the screening room." 

            Heero nodded curtly and walked quickly away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

            "What's going on?" Triton asked as he entered the hangar again. 

            "Boss just said to board and hurry up about it." Bit shrugged. Triton frowned, but followed the blonde into the main ship. 

            "Who's piloting?" 

            "Boss I think. Hey Cloud!" 

            Their partner turned. "Better buckle up guys; we're almost ready to take off. As soon as we're finished fueling-" 

            He was cut off as the ship suddenly lurched and the three of them fell. 

            "What the-?" Bit shouted.         

            "We've taken off." Triton said. 

            "That's impossible." Cloud protested. "We were still hooked up to the fueling lines. That would cause an explosion!" 

            Triton stood and ran towards a view port. "Shavit." He breathed. 

            There indeed had been an explosion and the three men watched for a moment, frozen as the station seemed to blow up from the inside. 

            "Damn, what was he thinking?" Bit demanded. 

            Cloud just shrugged. Triton frowned, then turned and ran. 

            "Yo! Where are you going!" Bit shouted, following. 

            "To the docking bay." Triton answered. 

            "What the hell for?" 

            Triton stopped and Bit skidded into place beside him as the taller young man quickly punched in a code that opened the docking bay. "If we get one of the freighters in there, we can help evacuate some of the people still inside." The door whooshed open. Triton stared at Bit, as if asking a question. 

            "What the hell are you standing there for?" Bit demanded, running for one of the ships. "Let's go!" 

            Triton allowed himself a tight smile as he ran after the blonde. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "What's going on?" Midii said sleepily. Quatre was shaking her awake. 

            "Fire." The young man said with a controlled voice. "Get dressed; we have to get out of here now." 

            "Fire?" Midii was fully awake by now. She hurriedly threw on what she had been wearing the day before and ran out, quickly stuffing items in a bag. Fire inside a fueling station would mean evacuation. She wasn't taking much; just necessities. 

            After grabbing some clothes for herself and Quatre, as well as whatever food she could carry, all the money she knew they had and some personal items of herself and Quatre, she ran out. Her throat caught in her breath as she saw the orange and black clouds coming from the main part of the station. 

            "Mids! This way!" It was Abdul. He was sooty and his clothes were torn. Without a second thought, Midii followed him, trying to remember if she had grabbed a med kit in her haste. 

            "You can get on that ship there." Abdul paused. "We've all ready had some deaths. I hate to lay this on you, but can you take control of the kids?" 

            "Done." Midii answered immediately. Slinging her bag firmly over her shoulder, she hastily herded the small crowd of children up the gangplank and onto the ship. Just before entering, she looked at the number of ships in the Maguanac's private docking bay and then at the size of the station. They would not be able to save everyone. Her throat tightening, she tore her eyes away and hastened inside. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            "My lord." Heero bowed before the hologram. The old man in it smiled. 

            "I trust you have been efficient." 

            "I managed to track down a lead. However-" 

            "It does not matter." 

            "Sir?" Heero looked up for the first time, but even now, no emotion flickered through his blue eyes. 

            "The Princess is no longer a concern of ours, Heero. I have other deeds for you to do." 

            "I understand." 

            The old man nodded. "Good. I expect you back in Coruscant immediately." 

            Heero gave a sharp nod. The transmission ended. Heero walked away quickly. He did not question why his lord had chosen to end the hunt. He did not want to know. He merely did as told. But there was something nagging at his mind. Something about that girl's holo. He shook it off. He was an Imperial Agent. It was best to not dwell on such things. Squaring his shoulders, Heero set off to go back to Coruscant. 

            For good or for ill, the matter was closed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Quatre was on one of the ships. It had not been long before the whole station seemed to go up and Rashid had dragged him on to a ship. He stood now before a wide view port, watching the one place he had called home go up in flames. 

            "How?" he said in a hoarse, grating tone. Rashid stopped just behind him. 

            "The Mercs." The man admitted quietly, tiredly. "They were still connected to the fuel lines and took off. We just had a report over the comm that there was Security on their tail. I guess they thought that the fire would put the police off." 

            Quatre's fists clenched and angry tears stung his eyes. How could somebody be so selfish as to risk hundreds of lives to…his thought trailed off as Rashid moved to be beside him. 

            "Are they still here?" Quatre asked. 

            "They're hyperdrive wasn't fully operational. We were still working on it." Rashid answered. 

            "Are you going to stop me?" 

            Rashid was quiet before answering. "No." 

            "Good." Quatre turned tightly on his heel and stalked off, pausing to grab a flight helmet. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```

            "Okay, Blue Squadron; it's been done! Let's get our asses out of here." Blue Leader said. There were cheers and whoops as the squadron turned and flew back, eventually joining with others. Hilde suddenly gave a gasp. 

            "What?" Duo spun quickly, only to see the super-nova sized explosion happening so close behind them. "Wow…" 

            "There she blows!" Five's partner joked. 

            "I can't believe we did it." Three said in an awed voice. There was silence as everyone took that in. They had done it. Hilde suddenly felt weak as she realized the huge odds that had been against them. The adrenaline faded, leaving her tired, but still somehow exhilarated with victory. She laughed and realized there were tears in her eyes. 

            "Well, we survived that one." She commented lightly. 

            "Yeah." Duo mused. "Guess we're going to have die another day." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            "Highness, Your highness." 

            Relena's eyes came open to stare at a young boy. 

            "We've landed. Gene said to wake you up." 

            Relena smiled at him. "Thank you…" what was his name? "Jim." She hazarded, hoping it was right. The youngster gave her a bright smile and left. Relena sat up, still in the same clothes she had worn to escape her own ship. Pulling on her slippers, she carefully walked into the narrow hallway, nearly colliding with the other young woman who lived on the ship. Dorothy was just behind her. 

            "We'll be leaving soon." The blonde said. Relena nodded. The other woman smiled kindly. 

            "I'll make you something to eat before you go." She offered. Relena smiled back and thanked her. 

            As soon as she had left, Relena turned to Dorothy. "What are we going to do?" 

            Dorothy glanced at her, before turning to go. "Survive." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```

            How long had it been? Midii didn't know. It seemed like days had gone by when she knew it could have only been a few hours. More and more people had piled onto the ship, each one more soot covered, more burnt than the last. She'd finally had the children do odd jobs while doing her best to care for the ones burnt the worst. A few had even died. 

            Now she was tired, both physically and emotionally. Walking to a wide viewport, Midii's breath caught in her throat. The station was still burning in on itself. Tears steamed down her cheeks and she sank. Where was Quatre? Had he gotten off? What about Abdul and his lovely Twi'lek fiancée? Rashid and his family? Had Rin's parents made it or was the talkative little girl now an orphan? 

            "Mids?" 

            The girl turned. Quatre stood there, looking tired, sooty, sweaty, and exhausted. Some of the fire had gotten to close and singed his hair, as well as giving him sunburn-like marks on his face. But to Midii, he had never looked so beautiful. With a choked sob, she stood and flung herself at him. He embraced her tightly. 

            "It's okay, Mids." He said, hushing her and stroking her hair till she quieted. 

            "Are you all right?" she murmured. She looked at him. His jaw was tight and he had cried; his eyes were red-rimmed and pale streaks were on his cheeks were the tears had gone through the soot. 

            "It was the mercs." He said in a hoarse whisper. "I went after them in a fighter; but they hit hyperspace." He drew in a breath. "But…my people? Gods, where are they going to go?" 

            Midii just hugged him, as he shook from the emotion. Once again, there was nothing she could say. Nothing she could do. Except be there for him. 

            "Come on." She said softly. "You could use some bacta on those burns and some water." 

            Quatre, thoroughly exhausted, allowed the girl to lead him away, as the fire in the station finally died out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            "Well, that was that." Bit said absentmindedly. He and Triton had contacted one of the Maguanac ships, saying that they had refugees aboard. They were now part of the space caravan, heading for Triton's home planet. Darknell. 

            "I suppose we're not part of that merc group anymore." Bit continued. 

            "No, I suppose not." Triton answered quietly. Cathy would be happy about that…

            "It's kinda sad, you know?" 

            "Hm?" 

            "That." Bit motioned to the last of the wreck. "Seems a shame…and then all these people homeless. I just can't believe the Boss would panic and do something like that." 

            "It gets the police off our-their trail for a long time." Triton commented, punching in coordinates for hyperspace. 

            "Still seems like a waste to me." Bit muttered. Triton found his choice of words rather insulting, but he knew what the young man meant. Triton had traveled enough with Bit to know that although Bit wasn't the brightest lazer in the cannon, he did have a heart. 

            "Hold on." He said briefly, pulling the hyperspace lever. The ship jumped forward. The two men were silent as they were pulled through the vector. It would be a few hours before they reached their destination. 

            "Where will you go?" Bit asked. 

            "Stay on Darknell. With my sister." Triton answered briefly. 

            "Ah, so you have family." 

            Triton nodded. He hesitated, then said, "You?" 

            "I don't know." Bit admitted softly. "I really don't know." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            And so, the lives of fifteen people have forever been changed. 

            On Yavin IV, a husband and wife smuggling team joyfully help celebrate a victory for the Rebellion. On the same planet, in a quiet room away from the excitement, a Rebel soldier and a medical officer sit together in comfortable silence, her hand on his shoulder. 

            On Darknell, a young woman mourns her family, while another offers the best comfort she can and prays for her younger brother's safe return. 

            On Coruscant, an officer of a TIE squadron defects and falls out of view, while another officer returns to his master. In the Underworld, a dethroned princess and her assistant began a new life. 

            On the beautiful planet of Cinq, the new Moff surveys what he has been effectively imprisoned in and thinks for a long time. His colonel waits patiently by his side for a command. 

            And in space, two young men wonder about the future, while the remnants of a people try to figure out the shattered mess their lives have become. And in the midst of this grief, a young man and woman find comfort in each other. 

            This story may have ended….

            _But the adventure has just begun. _

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

**Wow. It's done! Well, the first part anyway. Watch for Among the Stars: Act II, which takes place during "The Empire Strikes Back". I'm hoping to get up a chapter in the next few weeks or so, but we'll see how it goes. **

**Midii: Yeah, I kinda enjoyed it too. ^__^ I always thought that they might make an interesting couple, but they aren't really given a chance in the cannon timeline. **

**Blue eyes – No problem. Hope you're still reading this…**

**KaT – lol, thanx for the enthusiastic review! **

**Okay, for contest results: Midii won this time ppls. KaT and some others did pretty well, but Midii got the most. So, Mids, pick a couple and a song and send 'em to me so I can write your song fic!**


End file.
